C U C U B A L U S Otites.
Spanifh Campion.
D E C A N D R I A Trigynia.
Gen. Char. Cal. fwelling. Petals five, furnifhed with
claws, not crowned at the mouth. Cap/, three-
celled.
Spec. Char. Flowers dioicous. Petals linear, undivided.
Syn. Cucubalus Otites. Linn. Sp. P I. 594. Hudf. F I.
An. 1 8 6 . With. Bot. A rr. 4 4 6 . Relh. Cant. 1 6 8 .
Lychnis vifcofa flore mufcofo. R a il Syn. 340.
l 'H I S plant, the leaft oftentatious of all its tribe, is peculiar
to dry, fandy, and gravelly foils in a very few parts of England,
chiefly Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgefhire. The flowers
appear in July and Auguft ; and although very numerous, may,
from their green colour, be eafily overlooked among the panicles
of furrounding grafles. Our prefent fpecimen was fent
from Bury by Wm. Matthew, Efq. called by miftake the Rev.
Mr. Matthew in defcription of plates 63 and 65.
T h e ro o t is p e ren n ia l an d ftro n g , fu n n in g deep in to th e
g ro u n d , an d p ro d u c in g m an y th ic k tu fts o f n a rrow , fp a tu la te ,
e n tire , fh a rp -p o in ted leaves, w h ich a re vifcid, an d ro u g h w ith
m in u te , th ic k -fe t, curved an d fometimes ftellated , h a irs, as are
likewife th e flem an d flowerftalks. T h e ftem is from one to two
fe e t h ig h , e r e f t, vifcid in th e u p p e r p a rt, an d p ro d u c in g n ume ro
u s little oppofite tu fts o f p e d u n cu la te d flowers, in te rm ix ed
w ith m em b ran o u s bradteae. T h e flowers are male on one ro o t,
a n d fema le o n a n o th e r ; b u t th e fo rm e r o ften pro d u c e abortive
p iftilla (a s in o u r fig u re), an d th e la tte r abortive ftamina. W e
fu fp ed l th e n um b e r o f ftyles varies from tw o to five. W e have
fo u n d in b o th fexes th e fame n a rrow en tire yellowifh pe ta ls,
th o u g h th ey are faid to be fometimes w a n tin g ; th ey a re very
m u c h like thofe o f S ap o n a ria lu te a Linn. (Sm ith Spicil. t. 5 .)
to w h ic h th is p la n t is allied in h a b it ; b u t th e capfule o f th a t
h a s o n ly o n e cell. F ig . 1 a n d 2 re p re fe n t th e piftilla o f the
fema le flow e rs ; th e o th e rs b e long to th e male.