Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Print Fact Sheet

Sagina apetala

Common name

Annual pearlwort

Family

Caryophyllaceae

Where found

Grassy areas, disturbed sites, stone- and brick-work, and along streams. Sydney area. ACT. Widespread elsewhere but not common.

Notes

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)