Sagina saginoides (L.) Karst.
arctic pearlwort
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
arctic pearlwort
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Biennial or more usually perennial (sometimes flowering the first year) herb from a taproot and slender branching stem-base; forming mats to 20 cm wide; stems decumbent to ascending, several, simple to few-branched, glabrous, 1-12 cm tall/long.
Leaves:
Basal leaves in rosettes, linear, abruptly sharp-pointed, 4-20 mm long, less than 1 mm wide, 1-nerved, glabrous; stem leaves opposite, 2-6 pairs, linear, mostly 3-8 mm long, sometimes with secondary clusters of axillary leaves; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of erect, solitary, terminal or lateral flowers; petals 5, white, rounded, stalklike at the base, 1-1.5 mm long; sepals usually 5 or sometimes 4, greenish with a white margin, egg-shaped, 1.5-2 mm long, appressed or at least loosely appressed at time of capsules opening.
Fruits:
Capsules egg-shaped, 2.5-3 mm long, 4- to 5-valved; seeds 0.2-0.4 mm long, reddish-brown, not shiny.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Early Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Sagina saginoides
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1638 | 1067 | 2205 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
31 | 0 | 85 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
156 | 20 | 270 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
13 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), CMA(3), ESSF(5), MH(1), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to moist pond margins, mud flats, streamsides and meadows from the subalpine to alpine zones; common in S BC, infrequent northward; N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ and S to NM, AZ, CA and MX.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Sagina linnaei C. Presl
Sagina micrantha (Bunge) Fernald
Sagina saginoides var. hesperia Fernald
Spergella saginoides (L.) Rchb.