''Sagina'' (like ''

Colobanthus ''Colobanthus'' is a large genus of small, cushion-like herbaceous plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, sometimes known as "pearlworts", a name they share with plants of the related genus ''Sagina''. ''C. quitensis'' is the world's southernmost ...

'' called "pearlworts") is a genus of 20–30 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the family

Caryophyllaceae 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, Cactacea ...

. These are flowering herbs native to temperate regions of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

extending south to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

areas at high altitudes, reaching just south of the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. They are small annual or

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plants, growing to 5–15 cm. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are opposite, often in tight whorl-like clusters, simple linear, typically 5–20 mm long. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are solitary or in small

cymes An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...

, 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 In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a small capsule containing several

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .African Flowering Plants Database
''Sagina''
/ref>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Flora of China
''Sagina''
/ref>

Species

The following species are accepted by ''

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...

'': *''

Sagina abyssinica ''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") 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 ...

'' Hochst. ''ex'' A. Rich. *''

Sagina afroalpina ''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") 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 ...

'' Hedberg *''

Sagina apetala ''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 Am ...

'' Ard. *''

Sagina caespitosa ''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") 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 ...

'' Lange *''

Sagina chilensis ''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") 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 ...

'' Naudin *''

Sagina decumbens ''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 habita ...

'' (Elliott) Torr. & A.Gray *''

Sagina glabra ''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") 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 ...

'' (Willd.) Fenzl *''

Sagina graminifolia ''Colobanthus quitensis'', the Antarctic pearlwort, is one of two native flowering plants found in the Antarctic region. It has yellow flowers and grows about 5 cm (two inches) tall, with a cushion-like growth habit that gives it a moss-like ap ...

'' Wedd. *''

Sagina humifusa ''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") 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 ...

'' (Cambess.) Fenzl ''ex'' Rohrbach ''in'' Martius *''

Sagina japonica ''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") 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 ...

'' (Sw.) Ohwi *''

Sagina maritima ''Sagina maritima'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name sea pearlwort. It is found throughout Europe, Southwest Asia, North Africa, the Canary Islands and the Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather ...

'' G.Don *'' Sagina maxima'' A. Gray *'' Sagina micropetala'' Rauschert *'' Sagina nivalis'' (Lindblad) Fr. *''

Sagina nodosa ''Sagina nodosa'', the knotted pearlwort, is a species in the genus ''Sagina'', native to northern Europe. It is a low-growing plant up to 15 cm tall, with paired leaves up to 1 cm long. The flower A flower, sometimes known as a ...

'' (L.) Fenzl * ''Sagina'' × ''normaniana'' Lagerh. *'' Sagina pilifera'' (DC.) Fenzl *''

Sagina procumbens ''Sagina procumbens'' is a species of flowering plant. in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names procumbent pearlwort, birdeye pearlwort and matted pearlwort. It can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and parts of South Ame ...

'' L. *'' Sagina sabuletorum'' (J.Gay) Lange *'' Sagina saginoides'' (L.) H.Karst. *''

Sagina stridii ''Sagina stridii'' is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophy ...

'' Kit Tan, Zarkos & Christodoulou *''

Sagina subulata ''Sagina subulata'' ((syn. ''Sagina pilifera''), 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 ...

'' (Sw.) C.Presl

References

Caryophyllaceae genera {{Caryophyllaceae-stub