Moft of the old Botanifts regarded this plant as a diftinft fpecies, and the obfervations of the modertH
{hewn that their opinion was well founded; they confidered it indeed as an Aljine, and this alfo was a
proof of their difcernment, for the Alfine media and our plant are undoubtedly of the fame genus, inafmj
as they agree exa&ly in the parts of fru&ification, number of ftamina excepted, and that is Found to varvl
the Aljine media: the Cerajlium femidecandrum is admitted to be of the fame genus as the others, thoull
has only five ftamina; the Aljine therefore fliould be removed to Stellaria, and called Stellaria Alfine; tf
Cerajlium aauaticum ought alfo to be placed with them, as it agrees better with the charafter of a StelUrM
than a Cerajlium, efpecially in its feed-veffel, a part which is of the firft confequence in determining
genus, and which L innaeus has not fufficiently attended to.
LiNNiEUS, in general too cautious in making fpecies, confiders our plant as a variety of Stellaria gramintI
but as it differs from that plant in fo many elfential points, we conclude he never had an opportunity 1
fairly examining and contrafting the two in a living ftate : DiLlenius has minutely defcribed it, efpecially tjj
flowers, but neither he or any other author that we are acquainted with, has noticed the callous tips of tl
leaves, though very confpicuous, nor the particular fituation o f the leaves refpe&ing the ftalk and each othl
(fee the defcription.)—Doody, as appears from R a y 's Synopjis, had the merit of obferving that the flowl
were produced ex alis foliorum, which is certainly one of the moft ftriking chara&ers of the fpecies, but this!
not produced in the common way ; the fad is, the flowers would be terminal, did not a new kind of ftioot cf
furculus, rather than a continuation of the ftem, proceed from the panicle.
The petals being fo deeply divided, and Spreading fo far afunder, has occafioned fome miftakes in the da
fcriptions which authors have given of the flowers: J. Bauhine defcribes them with ten petals ; VaillaJ
on the contrary, with five, and thofe undivided; this author, affuming to himfelf a fuperior degree of difceii
ment, complains that Morison and R a y had defcribed them as divided almoft to the bafe ; a more mini!
infpe&ion would have taught him that they were not fuch fuperficial obfervers as he imagined.
It is a very common plant in wet ipringy meadows, and efpecially on the edges of the ditches, which iijj
v terfeft fuch meadows, but cannot be laid to be truly a bog plant, like Anagallis tenella, or Drojera.
It flowers from June to Augujl,