Pink family

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Flowers in the pink family have four or five petals, either separate or fused into a tube, and are mostly pink or white. Leaves are in opposite pairs. It includes a host of small plants such as the sandworts, chickweeds, pearlworts and spurreys (e.g. sea spurrey).

The campions and catchflies are more conspicuous. Red campion is common on the edge of woods or hedges. Ragged robin is a plant of damp meadows and marshes.

One plant in the family has almost disappeared: the corncockle, once a widespread cornfield weed, has been virtually wiped out by modern herbicides.