50 
XII. CARY OPH YLLACEAE 
1. Cerastium dahuricum, Fisch . ; FI: Br. Ind. i. 227. Perennial, 
glabrous. Stems shining, long, straggling over bushes or long 
grass. Leaves sessile, ovate l|xl in., or oblong 2^x| in., bases 
united. Cymes repeatedly forked ; flowers long-stalked. Sepals 
ovate-lanceolate, J in., margins narrow. Petals nearly twice as 
long as the sepals. Capsule-teeth recurved. 
Matiana, Huttoo ; May, Jane W. Himalaya, 9000-11,000 ft.— Caucasus to 
Siberia. 
2. Cerastium vulgatum, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. i. 228. Annual, 
pubescent, usually more or less viscid. Stems often numerous, 
6-12 in., spreading from the base or nearly erect, usually much 
branched. Lower leaves stalked, ovate or spathulate ; upper 
sessile, varying from broadly ovate to narrowly oblong, ^-1 in. 
Cymes variable, their branches spreading or umbellate or reduced 
to a compact head. Sepals lanceolate, about 1 in., margins broad. 
Petals about as long as the sepals. Stamens sometimes 5 or even 
fewer. Capsule-teeth straight. 
Simla, very common ; April-October. — Hilly regions throughout India, 
ascending to 15,000 ft. — Temperate N. Asia, N. Africa, Europe ; widely diffused 
as a weed of cultivation (Britain, Mouse-ear Chickweed). 
The numerous forms of this variable plant have been regarded by some 
botanists as species. Three varieties are common at Simla : (1) that with 
open spreading cymes, frequent on road sides and dry situations ; (2) that with 
the flowers in an umbel-like cluster ; (3) that with the stalks so reduced that 
the flowers form a head. The two latter are usually found in shady, moist 
places. 
8. STELLARIA. From the Latin stella, a star, referring to the 
form of the flowers. — Nearly all cold and temperate regions. 
Annual or perennial herbs, glabrous or partially pubescent, 
rarely hairy. Stems angled, slender, weak, often diffuse, some- 
times matted, a line of hairs usually running down between the 
joints. Leaves, at least the upper ones, sessile or nearly so, 
rarely long-stalked. Flowers white, in cymes, sometimes in 
panicles, seldom solitary. Sepals 5 or 4, free, often viscidly 
pubescent. Petals as many as the sepals, rarely none, deeply 
2- lobed, except S. bulbosa. Stamens 10, sometimes fewer. 
Ovary sessile ; styles usually 3, rarely 2 or 5. Capsule sometimes 
3- 5-celled at the base, opening by as many valves as there are 
styles, the valves sometimes split at the tip. Seeds usually 
numerous and small, rarely 1 or 2 or few and larger. 
Petals not longer than the sepals. 
Leaves 2-8 in. 
Leaves all sessile 1. S. crispata. 
Lower leaves stalked . . . . . . . 2. S. paniculata. 
Leaves |-1 in. 
Lower leaves stalked. Petals shorter than the sepals 
or none . . . . . . . . 4. S. media. 
Leaves all sessile. Petals as long as the sepals . 7. S. longissima. 
