Moehringia trinervia

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Moehringia trinervia
Moehringia trinervia 2005.04.30 16.27.42.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Moehringia
Species:
M. trinervia
Binomial name
Moehringia trinervia

Moehringia trinervia, commonly known as apetalous sandwort [1] or three-nerved sandwort, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. A native of Eurasia, it has been introduced into North America. [2]

Contents

Description

Three-nerved sandwort is a small, slender, slightly pubescent annual growing 10 – 40 cm tall. [3] [4] The leaves are 6 – 25 mm long [5] with three conspicuous longitudinal veins, although some leaves may have up to five veins. [4] The flowers measure approximately 6 mm in diameter, with each bearing ten stamens and three styles. The three-veined sepals are longer than the petals. [6] : 485  The flowering period is April until July. [4]

Habitat and distribution

The plant is widely distributed in Britain and much of mainland Europe, although it is absent from the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland. [3] It favours fertile, well-drained soils in old lowland deciduous woodland and hedgerows, occurring up to 425 m. [5] In Britain, it is considered an ancient woodland indicator in southern England, East Anglia, and Carmarthen. [3] [7] However, three-nerved sandwort may also be found in secondary woodland and can recolonize relatively rapidly after habitat disturbance. [8]

A Polish study in the Niepołomice Forest found that three-nerved sandwort accumulated high amounts of heavy metals from pollutive industrial emissions in its tissues, especially of cadmium. The conclusion was that a high level of heavy metal ions in three-nerved sandwort reflects levels of heavy metal pollutants in the soil and atmosphere, so that this plant may serve as a useful bioindicator of environmental pollution with such metals. [9]

Similar species

Three nerved sandwort superficially resembles chickweed but is distinguished from the latter by its deep longitudinal leaf veins and undivided petals. .

References

  1. ↑ NRCS. "Moehringia trinervia". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Rabeler, Richard K. & Hartman, Ronald L. "Moehringia trinervia". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America (online). eFloras.org. Retrieved 2015-07-18.
  3. 1 2 3 Rose F. 2006. The Wildflower Key. Warne.
  4. 1 2 3 Gibbons B, Brough P. 2008. Guide to Wildflowers of Britain and Northern Europe. Philips
  5. 1 2 Streeter D, Hart-Davis C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. Collins Wildflower Guide. HarperCollins.
  6. ↑ Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN   978-1-5272-2630-2.
  7. ↑ Rose F. 1999. Indicators of ancient woodland: the use of vascular plants in evaluating ancient woodlands for nature conservation. British Wildlife 10: 241 – 251.
  8. ↑ Ray DB, Hill MO, Rothery P. 1999. Effects of urban land cover on the local species pool in Britain. Ecography 22: 507 – 515.
  9. ↑ Godzik B. 1992. Moehringia trinervia (L.) Clairv. – a bioindicator of heavy metal pollution in the environment. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 61 (3-4): 409 – 417.
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