Sagina decumbens

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

Sagina decumbens is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names trailing pearlwort [1] 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.

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Tetradymia argyraea is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names striped cottonthorn and striped horsebrush. It is native to the desert mountains of the southwestern United States, particularly of California, Nevada, and Arizona, where it grows in desert woodland habitat. It is a woolly, spiny shrub growing one half to nearly two meters in maximum height. The erect stems are white-woolly except for bare stripes at intervals. The leaves are linear in shape and harden as they age, becoming spiny. The larger leaves are woolly and there are clusters of smaller, threadlike leaves which may be hairless. The inflorescence bears two to five flower heads which are each enveloped in five thick phyllaries coated in white woolly hairs. Each head contains five pale yellow flowers each around a centimeter long. Flowers are produced in summer, as late as September. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long tipped with a pappus of bristles.

Tetradymia tetrameres is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name fourpart horsebrush and dune horsebrush. It is native to the Great Basin, where it occurs in western Nevada and just over the border in Mono County, California. It is a plant of dry scrub and sand dunes. It is a bushy, woolly shrub with many erect, spineless branches. It is the largest of the horsebrushes, growing up to two meters in height. The soft, woolly leaves are narrow and threadlike, growing up to 4 centimeters long. Shorter leaves occur in clusters around the primary leaves. The inflorescence bears 4 to 6 flower heads which are each enveloped in four or five woolly phyllaries. Each head contains up to four or five light yellow flowers each around a centimeter long. The fruit is a hairy achene which may be up to a centimeter long, including its pappus of long bristles.

Tetramolopium lepidotum is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Waianae Range tetramolopium. It is endemic to Hawaii, where today it is known only from the Waianae Mountains on the island of Oahu. It is threatened by habitat degradation caused by feral goats and pigs and introduced species of plants.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Sagina decumbens". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 October 2015.