Sagina L.

12. Sagina L. View in CoL 2

Small annual or perennial herbs, often caespitose, with slender procumbent or ascending flowering stems and subulate to linear-lanceolate leaves in slightly connate pairs. Flowers 4- to 5- merous, almost globose in bud, solitary or in few-flowered cymes. Sepals free; petals usually white, entire, often minute, sometimes 0; stamens as many or twice as many as the sepals; styles 4-5, alternating with the sepals. Fruit a capsule splitting to the base into 4 or 5 valves. Seeds numerous. 1 Annual, without vegetative stems at time of flowering; flowers

4-merous 2 Leaveswitha well-markedarista; meanseed-sizelessthan

0-4 mm 12. apetala 2 Leaves muticous or very shortly mucronate; mean seed-size more than 04 mm 13. maritima 1 Perennial, with vegetative stems at time of flowering, rarely annual; flowers usually 5-merous, sometimes 4-merous. ( If annual , flowers 5-merous) 3 Cauline leaves at the 2 uppermost nodes less than 2-5 mm,

with short dense axillary leaf-fascicles 1. nodosa 3 Cauline leaves at the 2 uppermostnodesnot distinctlyshorter than those at the lower nodes 4 Leaves with a terminal arista | - 1 | times as long as the maximum leaf-width

5 Petals 11-2 times as long as sepals (Corse and Sardegna)

5. pilifera 5 Petals less than 11 times as long as sepals 6. subulata 4 LeavesmuticousorwithanaristalessthanJ aslongasthe maximum leaf-width 6 Sepals and pedicels glandular (sometimes very sparsely so) 7 Petals more than 11 times as long as sepals 4. glabra 7 Petals less than 1 | times as long as sepals 8 Plant more or less densely caespitose; flowers solitary

8. nevadensis 8 Plant not densely caespitose; inflorescence 2- to 5-

flowered 7. sabuletorum 6 Sepals and pedicels glabrous, or rarely pedicels minutely glandular 9 Plants forming small dense tufts; sepals usually with purple margins; fruiting pedicel not recurved during ripening 10 Flowers 4- to 5-merous, usually with fewer than 10

stamens; sepals longer than petals; fruiting pedicels curving outwards 2. intermedia 10 Flowers 5-merous; stamens 10; petals longer than sepals; fruiting pedicels straight 3. caespitosa 9 Plants forming lax tufts or mats; sepals with white margins;

fruiting pedicels recurved at some stage during ripening 11 Flowers usually 4-merous, occasionally 5-merous; petals often minute or absent, sometimes conspicuous; capsule less than 3 mm 11. procumbens 11 Flowers usually 5-merous, occasionally 4-merous;

petals about equalling sepals; capsule 3 mm or more

12 Capsule more than 3 - 5 mm; sepals more than 2- 8 mm;

plant fully fertile 9. saginoides

12 Capsule less than 3 -5 mm; sepals less than 2-8 mm;

plant with reduced fertility 10. x normaniana