Herniaria L.

Herbs, annual or perennial, prostrate, procumbent or ascending, sometimes woody at base. Leaves opposite or sometimes apparently alternate, small. Flowers very small, in leaf-opposed or apparently axillary, rarely terminal clusters, sometimes 4-merous; bracts inconspicuous. Sepals usually 5, rarely 4, subequal. Petals absent. Stamens 2 - 5; staminodes usually 5, filiform minute or absent. Stigmas notched or 2-lobed. Achenes indehiscent, with a membranous pericarp, shorter or longer than sepals; seeds subglobose to reniform.

Africa, Europe and Western Asia; ca 35 species, 3 species in India.

Literature. WILLIAMS, F. N. (1896) A systematic revision of the genus Herniaria. Bull. Herb. Boissier 2.4: 556 - 570. HERMANN, F. (1937) Ubersicht uber die Herniaria- Arten das Berliner Herbars. Fedde, Repert. Spec. Nov. 42: 203 - 224.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Plants annual; flowers 1 - 1.5 mm across; stamens 2 - 3

2. Herniaria hirsuta

b. Plants perennial; flowers 1.5 - 2.5 mm across; stamens 5

2

2a. Styles distinct

1. Herniaria cachemiriana

b. Styles not distinct

3. Herniaria incana

List of Lower Taxa