Sagina decumbens

(Elliott) Torr. & A.Gray (1838)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Caryophyllaceae Genus: Sagina

pearlwort

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small annual herbs from a slender taproot, without a basal rosette of leaves or, if present, then quickly deciduous.

Stems: Stems capillary, erect, ascending, or occasionally decumbent, 4–17 cm long, unbranched or branched, often swollen at the nodes.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Lower blades linear, often spreading and somewhat recurved, 5–23 mm long, ca. 0.4–0.5 mm wide; upper leaves linear, becoming subulate toward apex of stem, 1.5–5 mm long. Apex apiculate. Base sessile, often connate around the stem. Surfaces glabrous. Margins hyaline. 1-veined. Petioles absent. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers solitary and terminal on the branches or few in cymes. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic.Pedicels filiform, 15–25 mm long in fruit, glabrous or sparsely glandular puberulent. Calyx of (4)5 sepals; sepals distinct, nearly distinct, or connate into a conspicuous tube, ovate to orbicular, (1.5–)1.7– 2(–2.5) mm long, often sparsely glandular puberulent, margins scarious. Corolla of (0–)5 petals; petals elliptic, nearly as long as sepals, caducous. Stamens 5 or 10; distinct or adnate to petals at base to form a short tube, which may be adnate to the gynophore or sometimes adnate to lower part of calyx, petaloid staminodes sometimes present; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, 1-celled; ovules numerous, campylotropous or sometimes hemitropous; styles as many as and alternate with the sepals.

Fruit: Capsules globose; (2–)2.5–3(–3.5) mm long; the valves recurved at apex after dehiscence. Seeds numerous; pale brown; obliquely triangular; 0.3–0.4 mm long; the surface smooth to slightly pebbled; with a dorsal groove; perisperm starchy; hard or rarely soft; true endosperm absent.

Ploidy: 2n = 36

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

Hawai'i Naturalized

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Specimens

Notes

  • Description digitized by Mercedez
  • Description digitized from the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii
  • Hawai'i. First collected in 1964
  • Our plants are referred to subsp. occidentalis, which never has reticulate seeds.

Bibliography

Name Published In: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 177 (1838)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Sagina decumbens (Elliott) Torr. & A.Gray Volcano area PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Kami, R. s.n. Hawaii BISH 12/8/1964
2 Sagina decumbens (Elliott) Torr. & A.Gray volcano area Growing terrestrially on a steep slope. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN kami, r. collector number: s.n. Maui BISH 12/8/1964