THE PINK FAMILY 
45 
Perennial Chiekweed. (Stellaria umbrosa, Opitz.)— A very similar species to the 
Common Chiekweed, often considered as a variety only. It differs in having sepals with small 
raised points and no hairs, slender erect stems and more pointed leaves. 
Rare. Shady places in Sussex, and two or three other counties. March — September. 
Perennial. 
Satin-flower or Greater Stitehwort. (Stellaria Holostea, Linn.)— Flowers large, 
J-f inch across, white, on slender stalks, in loose terminal forked clusters (dichotomous cymes). 
Sepals 5, pointed, with very narrow membranous margins ; petals 5, broad, deeply notched, much 
longer than the sepals; stamens 10 ; styles 3 ; capsule inflated, round, as long as the sepals, open- 
ing at the top by 6 teeth, i-celled and many-seeded. The stems 1-2 feet high, 4-angled, erect, 
brittle and smooth, snapping easily at the swollen joints, and the leaves lance-shaped, all stalk- 
less, grass-like, often 2 inches long. [Plate 24. 
Very common. Hedges and thickets. April — June. Perennial. 
Glaucous Marsh Stitehwort. (Stellaria palustris, Retz.)— Flowers inch across, 
white, few in loose terminal forked clusters (dichotomous cymes). Sepals 5, pointed, with broad 
membranous margins, indistinctly 3-veined ; petals 5, deeply notched, much longer than the sepals ; 
stamens 10 ; styles 3. Capsule oval, as long as the sepals, opening at the top by 6 teeth, i-celled 
and many-seeded. The stems 1-2 feet high, slender, 4-angled, branched, very brittle; and the 
leaves narrow and tapering, all stalkless, the uppermost membranous with a green stripe in the 
middle. 
Not common. Marshy places. May-August. Perennial. 
Lesser Stitehwort. (Stellaria graminea, Linn.)— Flowers small, inch across, 
numerous, white, in loose forked clusters (dichotomous cymes). Sepals 5, pointed, with 3 strong 
veins; petals 5, deeply notched, scarcely longer than the sepals; stamens 10 ; styles 3 ; capsule 
oval, a little longer than the sepals, opening at the top by 6 teeth, i-celled and many-seeded. The 
stems 1-3 feet high, 4-angled, smooth ; and the leaves very narrow, pointed, stalkless and smooth, 
the uppermost reduced to membranous bracts with a green stripe in the middle. [Plate 24. 
Very common. Meadows, pastures and hedges. May-August. Perennial. 
Bog Stitehwort. (Stellaria uliginosa, Murr.)— Flowers l inch across, white, few, in 
loose forked clusters (dichotomous cymes). Sepals 5, with 3 veins, united at the base into a tube 
and separating into 5 pointed teeth ; petals 5, deeply notched, shorter than the sepals ; stamens 10 ; 
styles 3 ; capsule oval, a little longer than the sepals, opening at the top by 6 teeth, 1 -celled and 
many-seeded. The stems 6-18 inches long, branched from the base, smooth, brittle and weak; 
with oblong or lance-shaped leaves, smooth, bioader than the Lesser Stitehwort and narrower than 
the Common Chiekweed. 
Very common in ditches and marshes. May — June. Perennial. 
SANDWORT. (ARENARIA, LINN.) — Flowers small, white, in forked clusters, the central one 
opening first (dichotomous cymes). Sepals 5, not united (free) ; petals 5, not notched (entire), 
rarely absent; stamens 10, rarely fewer; carpels 3, rarely 4, united into a i-celled seedcase and 
separating into 3, rarely 4 styles. Fruit an oval or round capsule, opening at the top by as many 
or twice as many teeth as there are styles, 1 -celled and usually many-seeded. Small herbs with 
the opposite leaves often growing in tufts and forming a cushion, and with the stems swollen at 
the joints (nodes). 
Vernal Sandwort. (Arenaria verna, Linn.) — Flowers £ inch across, pure white, in 
loose forked clusters (dichotomous cymes). Sepals 5, pointed, 3-veined ; petals 5, entire, longer 
