General Appearance
Arenaria serpyllifolia L. / Immediate children: Arenaria serpyllifolia ssp. serpyllifolia, it is an annual, up to 25 cm tall, glandular hairy, lush green herb. Stem filiform, usually dichotomously branched, branches sub erect to ascending, internodes up to 2 cm long. Leaves sessile, triangular-ovate to broadly lanceolate. 3-6 (-7) x 2-3 (-4) mm, 3-5-nerved, entire. acute-acuminate, sparsely glandular hairy to glabrescent. Cyme usually monochasial many-flowered. Flowers small, c. 5 mm across, whitish-green. Pedicel up to 8 mm long, filiform, glandular-hairy. Sepals 5, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate 3-4 x 1.5 mm, 3-5-nerved, acute-acuminate, margins white membranous, glandular outside. Petals 5, white, ovate-oblong, 1.5-3 mm long, entire, glabrous. Stamens 10, filament filiform, white; anthers sub globose, inconspicuous. Ovary sub globose, 0.5 mm in diameter, glabrous; style 3, free, c. 1 mm long, white. Capsule, ovoid-oblong or ± sub globose, pale yellow with brittle wall, slightly shorter than persistent enveloping sepals, dehiscing by 6 apical teeth. Seeds rounded-reniform, c. 0.5-0.7 mm long, blackish-brown, with papillate tubercles.
Life Form
Phytochoria
Distribution in Libya
Al-Jafarah Plain: El-Geddaieda (6 km) E. of Tripoli 1967 Tripoli 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977 Researches Station of Agriculture Faculty, University of Tripoli 2021
Zliten-Misurata Plain: Misurata 2008
Jabal Nafusa: Misallata (Shaafeen) 2008 Msallata-Garaboulli Province 2020
Notes
Wild in Libya, it is a common weed in cultivated fields and gardens.
This species is accepted: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:303826-2
Link of images: https://www.florandalucia.es/index.php/arenaria-serpyllifolia, https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/arenaria/serpyllifolia/, https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Arenaria+serpyllifolia, https://www.i-flora.com/en/fact-sheets/search-for-species/art/show/arenaria-serpyllifolia.html
For more information
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:303826-2, https://www.ipni.org/n/303826-2, https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000546651, https://www.gbif.org/species/8089871, https://africanplantdatabase.ch/en/nomen/specie/178535/arenaria-serpyllifolia-l, https://www.maltawildplants.com/CRYO/Arenaria_serpyllifolia.php, https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/arenaria/serpyllifolia/, https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/thyme-leaved-sandwort, https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Arenaria+serpyllifolia, https://www.i-flora.com/en/fact-sheets/search-for-species/art/show/arenaria-serpyllifolia.html
First: Encyclopedia Flora of Libyan:
Jafri, S.M.H. & El-Gadi, A. (1978) Flora of Libya, Caryophyllaceae Vol. (59) Department of Botany, Al-Faateh Univ., Tripoli, Libya. Page. 45.
Second: Researches and PhD theses, master theses, Sorted by Newest:
Al-Sghair, F.G. and Mahklouf, M.H. (2021) Vegetation Survey for Vascular Plants of Protected Area of the University of Tripoli-Libya. Species. Vol.22 (69), 2021. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohammed-Mahklouf, http://www.discoveryjournals.org/Species/current_issue/2021/v22/n69/index.htm, http://www.discoveryjournals.org/Species/current_issue/2021/v22/n69/A1.pdf
Vegetation Survey of Protected Area of the University of Tripoli-Libya. 2021
Mahklouf, M.H., Sherif, A.S., Betelmal, A.G. (2020) Floristic Study and Species Diversity of Msallata-Garaboulli Province in Libya. J. of Advanced Botany and Zoology Volume 7 / Issue 3 ISSN: 2348-7313. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohammed-Mahklouf, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341306643_Floristic_Study_and_Species_Diverisy_of_Msallata-Garaboulli_Province_in_Libya
Floristic Study and Species Diverisy of Msallata-Garaboulli Province. 2020
Baayo, Kh. A. (2008): Floristic composition and Phytochorological Analysis of Misratah area, Libya, Assiut Univ.J. of Botany 37(2), P-P. 33-78 (2008).
Mohammed, S.A.H. (2008) A taxonomic and ecological study of the plants of the Shaafin Reserve in Masalatah. Master Thesis. Department of Biology-Faculty of Arts and Sciences-Al-Mirqab University. Al-Khums. Libya. (In Arabic).
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