44° 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. IX, No. 4, 
SOME NEW OR OTHERWISE NOTEWORTHY PLANTS FROM 
OHIO.* 
Otto E. Jennings. 
During the latter part of March, 1907, the writer received 
from Mr. Roscoe J. Webb, a specimen of Cerastium in flower, 
collected near the top of the deep gorge of the Rocky River, 
about one-fourth mile from Lake Erie, June 23, 1907. 
At first the plant, in the absence of mature fruit, was regarded 
as an Alsine and was laid aside in the hope that fruiting material 
might be secured the following season. However, this result was 
not realized and a further study of the specimen together with 
another from the same collection sent later by Mr. Webb has 
enabled us to decide definitely upon the taxonomic status of the 
plants. This opportunity is taken to present the results of our 
studies in the hope that other Ohio botanists may add further 
records to the distribution and more complete details to our 
description. 
The plants in question belong to Cerastium arvense L., a 
species occurring in northern Eurasia and in dry or rocky places 
throughout the northern part of North America from Alaska to 
Labrador and south to Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, and in the mountains to Georgia. According to our 
manuals this is a perennial with ascending to erect stems usually 
tufted, glabrous to somewhat downy, slender, 1 to 2 cm. high, 
naked and few to several flowered at the summit. Leaves linear 
to narrowly lanceolate. Petals obcordate and more than twice as 
long as the calyx. Pods about 1 cm. long, curved, one-third to 
two-thirds longer than the calyx. 
For the northern part of Northern America the typical species 
appears to be the common form of the plant but in the southern 
part of its geographical range it breaks up into several “varie¬ 
ties.” Of these varieties there are two recognized in the north¬ 
eastern United States and we must consider the Rocky River 
specimens as representing a third and hitherto undescribed 
“variety.” 
Cerastium arvense oblongifolium (Torr.) Hollick & Britton as 
represented in the Herbarium of the Carnegie Museum is taller 
than the typical species, reaching about 4 dm.; pubescent, usually 
somewhat viscid-pubescent; leaves oblong to lanceolate, rather 
obtuse, larger than in the species; pods about twice as long as the 
calyx. Chiefly on serpentine rocks, Nova Scotia to Virginia, 
New York to Minnesota, Colorado. In the Carnegie Museum 
Herbarium there is a specimen from Put-in-Bav, H. N. Mertz, 
No. 323, July 1, 1881. 
* Presented at the meeting of the Ohio Academy of Science. 
