hairy rupture-wort

Herniaria hirsuta L.

Herniaria hirsuta is a flowering plant in the Caryophyllaceae family, commonly known as hairy rupture-wort. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa and has been introduced to other regions, including North America. The plant is an annual herb with prostrate stems up to 20 cm long. It produces small, fuzzy, pale green leaves and inflorescences in the leaf axils, each containing three to eight hairy green sepals and no petals. The fruit is a tiny bumpy utricle with a single seed.

Description

Herniaria hirsuta, described by Linnaeus in 1753, is a member of the Caryophyllaceae family. It is distributed across parts of Europe, including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as well as regions in Eastern Europe and Asia. The species is characterized by its low-growing, prostrate stems, small fuzzy leaves, and green, sepal-bearing inflorescences. The plant reproduces via a small, bumpy utricle containing one seed. The holotype was indicated by Chaudhri in 1977, but the original material was not examined by Linnaeus.

Other common names

hairy rupture-wortHairy rupturewort

Distribution

RU · Belgium · France · The Netherlands · Great Britain · GB · DK · Flanders · AR · Czech Republic · Slovakia · Denmark · Germany · Netherlands · Sweden · Ukraine · England · Scotland · SE · CZ · PL · DE · NO · NL · SK · conterminous 48 United States · Brussels-Capital Region · Flemish Region · Walloon Region · Afghanistan