''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 (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

. 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 by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

extending south to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

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 area, and is usually higher t ...

areas at high altitudes, reaching just south of the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. They are small

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

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 ...

plants, growing to 5–15 cm. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

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

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are solitary or in small

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

, 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 (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a small capsule containing several

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

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 specie ...

'': *''

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 habitat ...

'' (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 ''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 ...

'' 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 The Azores ( , , ; , ), o ...

'' G.Don *'' Sagina maxima'' A. Gray *''

Sagina micropetala ''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 ...

'' Rauschert *''

Sagina nivalis ''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 ...

'' (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 Flowers, also known as bloom ...

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

Sagina pilifera ''Sagina pilifera'' is a species of ''Sagina'', native (and endemic) to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia, where it grows in mountains at altitudes of 1,000–2,700 m. It is a prostrate herbaceous plant growing to 2–8 cm ta ...

'' (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 ''Sagina saginoides'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names arctic pearlwort or alpine pearlwort. It has a circumboreal distribution; it can be found throughout the northern latitudes of the North ...

'' (L.) H.Karst. *''

Sagina stridii ''Sagina stridii'' is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is a Greek endemic species occurring only at high altitude at Mt. Chelmos and Mt. Killini. It was described as a new species in 2012 and was named af ...

'' 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