Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Sagina apetala
Annual pearlwort
Caryophyllaceae
Grassy areas, disturbed sites, stone- and brick-work, and along streams. Sydney area. ACT. Widespread elsewhere but not common.
Introduced annual herb to 0.18 m tall, hairless or sparsely hairy, sticky. Basal leaves soon withering. Stem leaves opposite each other, usually 0.3-1 cm long, 0.3-1.5 mm wide, margins usually more or less hairy towards the base, tips pointed, usually with a long awn. Flowers 4–15 mm long, with 4 green to pale brownish pink sepals, each 1.5 to about 2 mm long, and 4 petals, minute or absent. Sepals spreading when the seed cases are ripe. Flowers in open clusters. Flowers Sep.–Jan. Seed cases oval, equalling or exceeding the sepals, to 3.5 mm long
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Sagina~apetala (accessed 5 February, 2021)
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