70 
MELANDRYUM 
Genus 16. Cucubalus (p. 81). Calyx very broad, inflated, fitting loosely to the fruit, with 
io — 20 veins, veins anastomosing. Petals imbricate in bud. Stigmas 3 — 5. Gynophore conspicuous. 
Fruit dry or succulent, with persistent septa below. 
Genus 14. Melandryum 
By R. H. COMPTON, M.A. 
Melandryum Roehling Deutschl. Ft. [274 (1796) partim, nomen;] ed. 2, 37 (1812) emend. Fries in 
Flora xxvi, 122 (1843); Al. Braun in Flora xxvi, 370 (1843); Pax op. cit. p. 73; Melanthium Fries in Bot. 
Notiser 170 (1842); Lychnis L. loc. cit., partim, incl. Silene toe. cit., partim. 
Calyx more or less inflated, not membranous, with 5 primary and 5 sutural veins, often with 
additional veins intercalated. Petals bifid, claw auricled, coronal ligules usually present. Stamens 10. 
Gynophore short. Stigmas 3 — 8, usually 3 or 5, when 5 then antisepalous. Fruit a capsule without 
persistent septa, dehiscing by twice as many teeth as there are stigmas. Seeds 00 , reniform. 
About 60 species ; northern hemisphere ; South America (Andes) ; Cape Colony. 
Sections of Melandryum 
Section I. Eu- Melandryum (see below). Leaves usually broad. Flowers almost always 
dioecious (but with rudiments either of stamens or of the pistil). Stigmas usually 5 (occasionally 
up to 8). Capsule dehiscing by 10 teeth, the septicidal splits occurring first and being deepest. 
Section II. Elisanthe (p. 73). Leaves usually narrower. Flowers monoclinous. Stigmas 
usually 3. 
Section I. EU-MELANDRYUM 
Eu-Melandryum A. Braun in Flora xxvi, 371 (1843); Pax, op. cit., p. 73. 
For characters, see above. 
British species and hybrid of Eu-Melandryum 
1. M. album (see below). Laminae narrower and thicker than in M. dio'icum. Petals white. 
Capsule with teeth spreading slightly outwards but not rolled back. Seeds grey. 
M. album x dioiCUm (p. 7 1 )• Plants intermediate between the parents, and usually occurring with 
or near them. Petals usually pink. 
2. M. dioicum (p. 72). Laminae broader and thinner than in M. album. Petals purplish- 
red, rarely white. Capsule with teeth rolled completely back when dry. Seeds brown. 
I. MELANDRYUM ALBUM. White Campion. Plate 68 
Lychnis sylvestris alba Gerard Herball 384 (1597); Johnson Kent 8 (1629); L. sylvestris albo flore Ray Syn. 
ed. 3, 339 (1724)- 
Melandryum album Garcke FI. N.- und M.- Deutschl. ed. 4, 55 (1858); Rohrbach in Linnaea xxxvi, 
209 (1869); Lychnis dio'ica L. Sp. PI. 437 (1753) partim ; L. alba Miller Gard. Diet. ed. 8, no. 4 (1768); L. dio'ica 
var. alba Weigel FI. Pom. 85 (1769); L. dio'ica var. arvensis Schkuhr Handb. i, 403, t. 124 (1791); L. vespertina 
Sibthorp FI. Oxon. 146 (1794); L. pratensis Rafn Danm. Holst. FI. 792 (1800); L. dio'ica var. /3 Smith FI. Brit. 
495 (1800)!; M. pratense Rohling Deutschl. FI. ed. 2, ii, 274 (1812); Rouy et Foucaud FI. France iii, 94 (1896); 
M. dio'icum Cosson et Germain FI. Env. Paris 28 (1845) non Schinz und Thellung ; Silene pratensis Grenier et 
Godron FI. France i, 216 (1847); Syme Eng. Bot. ii, 67 (1864). 
leones: — Smith Eng. Bot. t. 1580, as Lychnis dio'ica fiore albo ; FI. Dan. t. 792, as L. dio'ica ; Reichenbach 
Icon, vi, t. 304, fig. 5125, as L. dio'ica. 
Camb. Brit. FI. iii. Plate 68. (a) Lower part of stem, (b) Branch with staminate flowers. ( c ) Stamens and 
rudimentary ovary of a pistillate plant attacked by Ustilago violacea. (d) Pistillate flower, (e) Ovary. (/) Per- 
sistent calyx containing ripening fruit, (g) Capsules. Cambridgeshire (E. W. H.). 
Exsiccata : — Billot, 2816, 2816 bis, as Lychnis vespertina-, Brotherus {PI. Cauc.), 155 as M. pratense ; 
Fiori et Beguinot {FI. Ital. Exsicc.), 1269 et 1269 ter, as L. alba\ Herb. FI. Ingric., i, 100, as M. pratense. 
Biennial usually, sometimes perennial. Shoot erect or ascending, up to about 1 m. high, usually 
stouter than in M. dio'icum, with long hairs below and shorter glandular hairs above ; main stems 
1 or few, often with sterile axillary branches. Laminae elliptical-lanceolate, lower ones narrowed 
to the base, acute ; upper ones sessile, base rounded ; much thicker and narrower than in M. dio'icum, 
