Plants → Primulaceae → Anagallis
Anagallis arvensis L. var. arvensis
Conservation Status:
Alien
Name Status:
Current
Brief Description
Amanda Spooner,
Tuesday 28 November 2000
Hairless, spreading, prostrate to decumbent annual, herb, 0.05–0.2 m high, to 0.2 m wide. Fl. yellow, orange, red, Oct–Mar. Grey or peaty sand, red clayey sand, loam, laterite, sandstone, limestone. Coastal areas, wet areas, rock outcrops, disturbed sites. Distribution: ER: COO; SW: ESP, GS, JF, MAL, SWA, WAR.
Scientific Description
Amanda Spooner, James Carpenter, Gillian Smith and Kim Spence,
Thursday 21 August 2008
Habit. Annual, broad-leaved, slender, erect, sprawling, decumbent or prostrate herbs, up to 0.22 m high, 0.3 m in diameter.
Leaves. Opposite, decussate, simple, sessile. Leaf blade 8–18 mm long, 4.5–10 mm wide, undissected, ovate, base cordate, margins entire, apex obtuse. Blade glabrous.
Flowers. Solitary, axillary; predominantly orange, regular, pedicellate, pedicel 10–25 mm long, perianth 2 -whorled. Calyx 4–5.5 mm long, 5 sepals, all sepals joined (very slightly at base). Corolla 5–6 mm long, 5 petals, all petals joined (lobes much longer than tube). Stamens 5, free of the perianth, all opposite the corolla parts, free of each other. Anthers versatile, dehiscing via longitudinal slits. Ovary syncarpous, superior, 1 -celled. Ovules numerous. Styles 1, simple.
Fruit. Dehiscent, a capsule (circumscissile), non-fleshy, 3–4 mm long, 3–4 mm wide.
Distribution. Australian: Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania. Alien to Australia, alien to Western Australia, naturalised. Native distribution: Europe, North Africa, western Asia.
Habitat. Amongst medium trees, low (sclerophyll) shrubland; occurring on outcrops, on the coast; in gravelly soil, sand, loam, wet soil; occupying damp areas; roadsides; growing in cropland, in disturbed natural vegetation, on bare areas.
Flowering period. January, February, September.
Additional differences from related species. Anagallis arvensis var. arvensis differs from A. minima in that the latter has alternate leaves, petals shorter than the sepals and stems no longer than 100 mm.
Descriptions are sourced from the Weed Information Network project, Western Australian Herbarium.
Descriptions were generated using DELTA data format and DELTA software: Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1995 onwards, 1998).
