SAGINA DECUMBENS
(Ell.) T. & G. ssp. DECUMBENS
Southern Pearlwort
FAMILY: Caryophyllaceae
HABIT: Low, matted annual, ascending or decumbent, 3-10 dm.;
flowering March- June.
SIMILAR SPECIES: This species closely resembles the other members
of this genus. S. decumbens differs from the common S. procumbens
in the absence of basal rosettes, the stipitate-glandular stem, the annual
habit, and the absence of sterile shoots.
TOTAL RANGE: Se. United States from MS, CT, and s.
NJ, s. OH, s. IN, IL and se. KS, s. to n. FL and e. TX.
STATE RANGE: GALLIA CO.: Rio Grande, 1903 R. Brockett
(OS). LAWRENCE CO.: Ironton, 27 May 1892, W.C. Werner (CLM, OS).
STATE STATUS: 1980 to present: Presumed Extirpated.
HABITAT: Wet or dry sandy areas, field margins, open pine
woods, roadsides, sidewalk cracks, and lawns.
HAZARDS: Overshading by woody species through succession,
soil compaction.
RECOVERY POTENTIAL: Presumably good, judging from the
diverse and hostile sites inhabited by this species in the center of its range.
INVENTORY GUIDELINES: Collect mature flowering material.
This species may be more common than believed and is perhaps simply
undercollected due to its inconspicuousness. It should be sought in extreme
southern Ohio.
COMMENTS: Basically a plant of the Piedmont and Atlantic
Coastal Plain, Crow (1978) writes that this species seems to have extended its
range with civilization, especially in KS, OK, n. TX, AZ, Alb. and Sask. The
other subspecies of this plant, ssp. occidentalis (Wats.) Crow, is
restricted to the west coast. This obscure plant is easily overlooked. It
should be sought throughout southern Ohio.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Crow, G.E. 1978. A taxonomic revision of Sagina
(Caryophyllaceae) in North America. Rhodora 80: 1-91.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Created: 1/1985 David P. Emmitt
Database Code: SPJN.810