There are many kinds of Alsine, widely distributed, low herbs, liking
moist ground and shady places, with small, starry white flowers; with
four or five sepals; four or five petals, deeply two-lobed or none;
three to ten stamens and three to five styles; capsule roundish or
oblong, rather shorter than that of Cerastium, splitting to below the
middle, with twice as many valves as there are styles and many seeds.
Many of these plants are weeds. They are often called Stitchwort. The
Greek name means "grove," the home of some kinds.
[Sidenote: =Tall Chickweed=
_Alsìne lóngipes._ (_Stellaria_)
=White
Summer
Northwest, Nev., Utah, etc.=]
An attractive little plant, with smooth stems, from six to fifteen
inches tall, and pretty little flowers, less than half an inch across,
growing singly, or in loose clusters, with white petals which are
deeply two-lobed, so that they appear to be ten. The capsule is almost
black when ripe. This is common in moist and grassy places in Yosemite
and when growing in the shade is taller and more slender than in the
open. It reaches an altitude of ten thousand feet and is found in the
East and in Asia.
There are many kinds of Cerastium, abundant in the temperate zone,
resembling Alsine, but usually downy and therefore called Mouse-ear
Chickweeds. The flowers are white, usually with five sepals, five
petals notched at the tips or with two lobes, ten or five stamens and
five stigmas. The cylindrical capsule, often curved, splits at the top
into ten teeth.
[Sidenote: =Field Chickweed=
_Cerástium arvénse_
=White
Spring, summer
U. S.=]
On the ledges moistened by the mist and spray that blow from the
Yosemite waterfalls, among the glistening, wet grasses, these pretty
little white flowers are quite conspicuous. They smell pleasantly of
honey, measure about half an inch across, and have more or less downy
stems, from five to ten inches tall. This is the prettiest Cerastium,
though not so "mousy" as some, and grows in dry as well as moist
situations.
[Illustration: Field Chickweed--Cerastium arvense.