Sagina procumbens

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Sagina procumbens
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Sagina
Species:
S. procumbens
Binomial name
Sagina procumbens
L.

Sagina procumbens is a species of flowering plant. in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names procumbent pearlwort, [1] birdeye pearlwort [2] and matted pearlwort. It can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and parts of South America. It is a common weed of many environments. It can be found in wild and disturbed habitat, especially moist areas. It can sometimes be seen growing in lawns or in cracks in pavements. This is a perennial herb forming clumps or mats of hairless green herbage, sometimes vaguely resembling a patch of moss. The leaves are linear and up to 1 or 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower with four or five sepals and four or five small white petals, but the petals are sometimes absent.

Contents

Description

Showing short leaves no more than 10mm long. Flowers minute and solitary, sepals 4 or 5, petals minute or absent. [3]

As an invasive species

In 1998 numerous well-developed plants were found on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gough Island, where it is an introduced species. Given the island's remoteness, seeds were most likely introduced from visitors' footwear and/or clothing. Without control the plant will very likely transform the ecosystem of the island's uplands, as it has already done on the Prince Edward Islands, where it has spread at a rate of 100 m to 300 m per year and is now considered beyond control. [4] Eradication programs on Gough Island are ongoing and are expected to require years of 'concerted effort'. [5]

Role in myths, magic and legends of Great Britain

It is said to have been the first plant on which Christ set his foot when he came to Earth, or when he rose from the dead. In the highlands of Scotland it was supposed to have derived supernatural powers from having been blessed by Christ, St Bride and St Columba. A spray of it hung from the door lintel gave protection against fairies, especially those who made a practise of spiriting people away. If pearlwort were stuck in a bull's fore-hooves, the cows with which it mated and the calves and the milk they produced were safeguarded from ills. If a cow ate the herb, its calves and milk, and all who drank the milk, were also protected against fairies. For the young village maiden, pearlwort brought a bonus. If drunk in an infusion, or used merely to wet the lips, it would attract her favoured lover, and if a piece of it were in the girl's mouth when she kissed him, he was bound to her for ever. [6]

Etymology

Sagina means 'fodder'; the genus was named for a fodder plant, spurrey, which has since been moved into its own genus, Spergula . [7]

Procumbens means 'procumbent', 'lying flat on the ground', or 'creeping forwards'. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caryophyllaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae, and Polygonaceae. It is a large family, with 81 genera and about 2,625 known species.

<i>Hesperis matronalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Hesperis matronalis is an herbaceous flowering plant species in the family Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names, including dame's rocket, damask-violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, summer lilac, sweet rocket, mother-of-the-evening, Good & Plenties, and winter gilliflower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gough Island</span> Island in the South Atlantic

Gough Island, also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares, is a rugged volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It is about 400 km (250 mi) south-east of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, 2,400 km (1,500 mi) north-east from South Georgia Island, 2,700 km (1,700 mi) west from Cape Town, and over 3,200 km (2,000 mi) from the nearest point of South America.

<i>Sagina subulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Sagina subulata (, the heath pearlwort, Irish-moss, awl-leaf pearlwort or Scottish moss, is a species of flowering plant in the pink and carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Europe, from Iceland south to Spain, and east to southern Sweden and Romania. It occurs on dry sandy or gravelly soils.

<i>Platystemon</i> Genus of flowering plants

Platystemon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the poppy family containing the single species Platystemon californicus, which is known by the common name creamcups. It is native to Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah and Baja California, and is found in open grasslands and sandy soils below 6,000 feet (1,800 m) elevation.

Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, as well the other uninhabited islands nearby, are a haven for wildlife in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The islands are or were home to much endemic flora and fauna, especially invertebrates, and many endemic fish species found in the reef ecosystems off the islands. The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as Important Bird Areas for both their endemic landbirds and breeding seabirds.

<i>Sibbaldiopsis</i>

Sibbaldiopsis is a genus in the plant family Rosaceae. This genus only contains a single species: Sibbaldiopsis tridentata, formerly Potentilla tridentata. Commonly, its names include three-toothed cinquefoil, shrubby fivefingers, and wineleaf. Systemic phylogenetic work has placed S. tridentata within Sibbaldia as Sibbaldia retusa.

<i>Sagina</i> Genus of flowering plants

Sagina is a genus of 20–30 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. These are flowering herbs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere extending south to tropical mountain areas at high altitudes, reaching just south of the equator in Africa. They are small annual or perennial herbaceous plants, growing to 5–15 cm. The leaves are opposite, often in tight whorl-like clusters, simple linear, typically 5–20 mm long. The flowers are solitary or in small cymes, with four or five green sepals and an equal number of white petals; the petal size relative to the sepal size is useful in species identification. The fruit is a small capsule containing several seeds.

<i>Clematis hirsutissima</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Clematis hirsutissima is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name hairy clematis or vase flower. It is a perennial herb that is native to much of the western United States, from Washington to Nebraska. It is a small, erect plant which, unlike other Clematis, does not generally produce vines. It is quite variable in appearance, especially across varieties. In general the hairy stem reaches up to about half a meter tall and has many large hairy leaves divided into lance-shaped lobes. The inflorescence appears at the tip of the stem and bears a solitary flower. The flower is made up of an urn-shaped cup of deep purple-blue petal like sepals, which are fuzzy and have pointed or rounded tips. Rare individuals have white or pinkish sepals. There are no true petals. The fruit is a hairy achene with a very long beak and a plume on the end; it is dispersed by wind.

<i>Anoda cristata</i> Species of flowering plant

Anoda cristata is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by many common names, including spurred anoda, crested anoda, and violettas. It is native to North and South America. It is known throughout the rest of the Americas as well as Australia as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been found as a weed in Belgium. Naturally, it is often found near streams, in moist meadows, and in disturbed areas.

<i>Ludwigia palustris</i> Species of plant

Ludwigia palustris is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names marsh seedbox, Hampshire-purslane and water purslane. This is an aquatic or semiaquatic perennial herb which grows in moist to wet to flooded areas. It is sometimes a weed. The species epithet palustris is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat.

<i>Lythrum portula</i> Species of flowering plant

Lythrum portula is a species of flowering plant in the loosestrife family known by the common names water-purslane and spatulaleaf loosestrife. It is native to Europe, and it is found in parts of western North America as an introduced species. It often grows in moist habitat, such as marshes. This is a prostrate annual herb producing a hairless, reddish stem up to 25 centimeters long which lies along the ground and roots where its nodes come in contact with wet earth. The slightly fleshy, spoon-shaped leaves are about a centimeter long and greenish to reddish in color. Solitary flowers occur in leaf axils. Flowers often have white or pink petals about a millimeter long, but some lack petals. The fruit is a spherical capsule containing minute seeds.

<i>Sagina apetala</i> Species of flowering plant

Sagina apetala is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names annual pearlwort and dwarf pearlwort. It is native to Europe and it is known elsewhere as an introduced species, including parts of North America. It grows in many types of disturbed habitat, such as cracks in the sidewalk. It is a petite annual herb producing a threadlike stem just a few centimeters long, spreading or growing erect. The plant is glandular and somewhat hairy. The leaves are linear in shape and not more than about a centimeter long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower borne on a threadlike pedicel. The flower has usually four sepals and generally no petals.

Sagina decumbens is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names trailing pearlwort and western pearlwort. It is native to several areas of North America, where it can be found in many types of habitat. It is a small annual herb producing a threadlike green or purplish stem growing erect or trailing, measuring up to about 16 centimeters long. The leaves are hairless, linear in shape, and one half to two centimeters long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower borne on a threadlike pedicel. The flower has usually five sepals and five tiny white petals. There are two subspecies which differ mainly in the microscopic appearance of the seeds.

<i>Sagina maxima</i> Species of flowering plant

Sagina maxima is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names stickystem pearlwort and thick-stemmed pearlwort. It is native to the west coast of North America from Alaska to California, where it can be found in many types of sandy and rocky coastal habitat. It is a small, fleshy perennial herb growing in a clump of linear leaves and thick stems. The fleshy, pointed leaves are 1 or 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower with five sepals and five small white petals. There are two subspecies which differ mainly in the arrangement of hairs on the stem.

<i>Sagina saginoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Sagina saginoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names arctic pearlwort or alpine pearlwort. It has a circumboreal distribution; it can be found throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in subalpine and alpine climates and other mountainous habitat at lower elevations. This is a small perennial herb producing a slender to threadlike stem just a few centimetres long, growing decumbent or erect. It is sometimes clumpy in form. The leaves are linear in shape and about 1 to 2 centimetres in length. The inflorescence is a solitary flower with five sepals and five small white petals.

<i>Sibbaldia procumbens</i> Species of flowering plant

Sibbaldia procumbens is a species of flowering plant of the genus Sibbaldia in the rose family. It has an Arctic–alpine distribution; it can be found throughout the Arctic, as well as the at higher elevations in the mountains of Eurasia and North America. It grows on tundra and in alpine climates where snow remains year-round, and on subalpine mountain slopes. This is a low, mat-forming perennial herb producing clumps of herbage in rocky, gravelly substrate. A spreading stem up to 15 centimeters long grows from a caudex. Each leaf is divided into usually three leaflets borne at the end of a petiole up to 7 centimeters long. Each wedge-shaped leaflet has three teeth at the tip. The flower has usually five pointed green bractlets, five wider pointed green sepals, and five tiny yellowish petals each about a millimeter long. The fruits develop in the remnants of the sepals on erect stalks.

<i>Silene antirrhina</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene antirrhina is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names sleepy silene and sleepy catchfly. It is native to the Americas, where it is widespread throughout North America and parts of South America. It is known in Europe as an introduced species.

<i>Tidestromia lanuginosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Tidestromia lanuginosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common name woolly tidestromia.

<i>Sagittaria graminea</i> Species of aquatic plant

Sagittaria graminea, the grassy arrowhead or grass-leaved arrowhead, is an aquatic plant species native to eastern North America.

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Sagina procumbens". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012 Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University Press ISBN   978-185918-4783
  4. Cooper, J. et al., "Earth, fire and water: applying novel techniques to eradicate the invasive plant, procumbent pearlwort Sagina procumbenss, on Gough Island, a World heritage Site in the South Atlantic", Invasive Species Specialist Group, 2010, Retrieved on 12 February 2014.
  5. Bisser, P. et al., "Strategies to eradicate the invasive plant procumbent pearlwort Sagina procumbens on Gough Island, 2010", Retrieved on 12 February 2014.
  6. Reader's Digest Nature Lover's Library, Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Britain, Editor Michael W. Davison, Art Editor Neal V. Martin, The Reader's Digest Association Limited, 11 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E144HE, Reprint 2001, ISBN   0 276 42506 5.
  7. 1 2 Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN   9780521685535 (paperback). pp 315, 337