Knotty fattening herb

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Knotty fattening herb
Knotty fattened herb (Sagina nodosa), illustration

Knotty fattened herb ( Sagina nodosa ), illustration

Systematics
Order : Clove-like (Caryophyllales)
Family : Carnation family (Caryophyllaceae)
Subfamily : Alsinoideae
Tribe : Alsineae
Genre : Fattening Herbs ( Sagina )
Type : Knotty fattening herb
Scientific name
Sagina nodosa
( L. ) Fenzl

The Knotted Pearlwort ( Sagina nodosa ) is a plant from the family of the Pink family (Caryophyllaceae). This species resembles the Lower Fattened Herb , but is overall somewhat larger and has much more conspicuous and larger flowers. In addition, the gnarled fattening herb always has five sepals and petals.

description

Vegetative characteristics

The knotty fattened herb is an evergreen, perennial , herbaceous plant and reaches heights of between 5 and 15 cm. It is hairless or downy, grows prostrate or ascending and has few branches. The plant forms a taproot. Non-flowering rosettes of leaves sprout from the leaf axils, these can fall off and take root in suitable places, which makes the plant sometimes look grassy. The opposite stem leaves are narrowly linear, 5 to 15 mm long at the bottom and usually less than 5 mm long at the top. They have a short, fleshy spike tip.

Knotty fattening herb ( Sagina nodosa )

Inflorescences, flowers and fruits

The flowers sit in a loose inflorescence on thin stalks that arise from the leaf axils. The five-fold flowers are 6 to 12 mm in diameter. They have a double perianth of five sepals and five petals each . The entire, white, egg-shaped petals are about twice as long as the 2 to 3 mm long sepals. The flower contains ten stamens and a five-fold style.

The almost spherical capsule fruit protrudes slightly over the sepals and opens with five blunt valves. The small, dark brown, egg-shaped seeds are about 0.5 mm long.

Chromosome number

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 56, less often 20-24 or 44.

Occurrence and ecology

The lower fattening herb is a circumpolar Eurasian flora element of the temperate zones . In the northern regions of Europe and North America, especially in coastal areas, it is common. It also occurs in Siberia and has also been partly abducted to more southern areas. It generally settles at altitudes of around 700 meters, but there are sites in Switzerland up to altitudes of 1300 meters.

The gnarled fattened herb grows in open, earthy places on moist to wet, nitrogen-rich, mostly calcareous sand, peat or clay soils. Slightly salty soils with a chloride content of less than 0.3% can also be tolerated by the gnarled fattening herb. It usually occurs in small to large groups. It settles on areas damaged by (cattle) treads, on the edges of open roads and ditches and in nutrient-poor moors and moor forests. At the North Sea it grows on salt meadows and flat sand ridges. It is a character species of Juncetum compressi in Central Europe and occurs on the coasts in the var. Moliniformis variety in societies of Saginion maritimae.

Although the flowers are very small, they produce nectar through glands at the base of the stamens, so that insect pollination takes place primarily through bees and small flies. However, the hermaphrodite flowers can also pollinate themselves . The further distribution of the species takes place through seeds, which the wind drifts , and on the other hand through vegetative reproduction, in which the fallen leaf sprouts take root. Overall, the species is weak and often does not flower or the seeds do not mature fully.

Danger

The gnarled fattening herb is classified as "critically endangered" in Germany. In some federal states it is already listed as “critically endangered” or even “extinct”. The portfolio development is declining both in Germany and in Central Europe. It is also included in the “Red List” of threatened species in Switzerland. However, it is still considered safe within Central Europe.

Systematics

The knotty fattened herb has the botanical name Sagina nodosa (L.) Fenzl . Synonyms are Spergula nodosa L. and Sagina nodosa var. Moniliformis (G. Mey.) Lange .

One can distinguish the following subspecies:

  • Sagina nodosa subsp. nodosa is more hairy, especially on the central ribs of the leaves. The flowering time is late summer. The chromosome number is 2n = 56. It can be found in damp crevices of rocks along the sea coast and on wet sand in river mouths at heights of up to 300 meters. The main distribution area is north-east Canada.
  • Sagina nodosa subsp. borealis Crow is common all over Canada to Greenland. The flowering time is late summer. This subspecies is largely hairless and is common along the coast and the banks of the great lakes. The number of chromosomes is 2n = 56.

Sources and further information

The article is mainly based on the following documents:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oskar Sebald : Guide through nature. Wild plants of Central Europe. ADAC Verlag, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-87003-352-5 , p. 81.
  2. ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  380-381 .
  3. ^ Sagina in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved August 30, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Knotiges Mastkraut ( Sagina nodosa )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Pictures: [1] [2]