View source for Biology:Sagina subulata

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Sagina subulata a1.jpg
|image_caption = Plant in flower, Poland
|genus = Sagina
|species = subulata
|authority = ([[Biography:Olof Swartz|Swartz]]) [[Biography:Carl Borivoj Presl|C.Presl]]
|synonyms =
    {{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; |
*''Alsine subulata'' <small>(Sw.) E.H.L. Krause</small>
*''Phaloe subulata'' <small>(Sw.) Dumort.</small>
*''Spergella subulata'' <small>(Sw.) Rchb.</small>
*''Spergula subulata'' <small>Sw.</small>
    }}
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2484939
|title=The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species
|accessdate=12 May 2015}}</ref>
'''''Sagina subulata''''' (([[Biology:Synonym (taxonomy)|syn.]] ''Sagina pilifera''), the '''heath pearlwort''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=17 October 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> '''Irish-moss''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | accessdate=12 May 2015}}</ref> '''awl-leaf pearlwort'''<ref>{{PLANTS|id=SASU5|taxon=Sagina|accessdate=26 October 2015}}</ref> 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 {{wipe|Spain}}, and east to southern Sweden and Romania. It occurs on dry sandy or gravelly soils.<ref>[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Sagina&SPECIES_XREF=subulata&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Sagina subulata'']</ref><ref>[http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/caryophylla/sagin/sagisub.html Den virtuella floran: ''Sagina subulata'' (in Swedish, with maps)]</ref><ref name=fnwe>Flora of NW Europe: [http://wbd.etibioinformatics.nl/bis/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=1928 ''Sagina subulata'']</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Sagina subulata 001.JPG|thumb|It is commonly cultivated in walkways between paving stones]]
Heath pearlwort is a low-growing prostrate [[Biology:Perennial plant|perennial plant]] forming a thick, dense mat with stems less than 10&nbsp;cm long, and slender subulate (awl-shaped) [[Biology:Leaf|leaves]] up to 1&nbsp;cm long. The flowers are 4–5&nbsp;mm in diameter, with five white petals the same length as the green sepals; they are produced singly on erect stems 2–4&nbsp;cm long. The seeds are smooth, brown, triangular shaped, 0.4–0.5&nbsp;mm, produced in a [[Biology:Capsule (fruit)|capsule]] 2.5–3&nbsp;mm long.<ref name=fnwe/><ref name=blamey>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. {{ISBN|0-340-40170-2}}</ref><ref>[http://www.soortenbank.nl/soorten.php?soortengroep=flora_nl_v2&id=936&menuentry=soorten Heukel's Flora van Nederland]</ref>

==British Isles==
''Sagina subulata'' is native to temperate areas of Europe. In the British Isles it is primarily found in Scotland, the Lake District, Wales, the Southwest and South of England, and the coasts of western Ireland. This mat-forming perennial, easy to overlook when not in flower, is found in dry, open, sandy or gravelly places, trackways, heaths, dry banks and grassy slopes near the sea. In the Trotternish Mountains on Skye, it is found on rocky ledges growing with ''[[Biology:Koenigia islandica|Koenigia islandica]]''. On Mount Brandon in County Kerry, Ireland, it grows at up to {{convert|700|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}, and at even higher altitudes on Ben Lawers in Perthshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/sagina-subulata |title=''Sagina subulata'' |work=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora |accessdate=8 March 2020}}</ref>

===Varieties===
There are two [[Biology:Variety (botany)|varieties]], ''Sagina subulata'' var. ''subulata'' with glandular-hairy sepals, and ''Sagina subulata'' var. ''glabrata'' Gillot with hairless sepals; the latter is often a [[Earth:Lawn|lawn]] weed, and has been confused with the related Mediterranean species ''[[Biology:Sagina pilifera|Sagina pilifera]]''.<ref name=fnwe/><ref name=fni>Flora of Northern Ireland: [http://www.habitas.org.uk/flora/species.asp?item=3050 ''Sagina subulata'']</ref> The [[Biology:Cultivar|cultivar]] 'Aurea' (referred to as Scottish or Scotch Moss in the horticultural trade) is grown as a garden plant.<ref>[http://www.horticopia.com/hortpix/html/pb11286.htm Horticopia: ''Sagina subulata'' 'Aurea'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616152657/http://www.horticopia.com/hortpix/html/pb11286.htm |date=16 June 2008 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Taxonbar|from=Q159272}}

[[Category:Sagina|subulata]]

{{Sourceattribution|Sagina subulata}}