Caryophyllaceae
Polycarpon

Polycarpon tetraphyllum (L.) L.

First published in Syst. Nat., ed. 10. 2: 881 (1759)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Europe to Sri Lanka, Macaronesia to N. & NE. Tropical Africa, Arabian Peninsula. It is an annual or subshrub and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Edmondson, J. R (Eds). (2016) Flora of Iraq, Volume 5 Part 1: Elatinaceae to Sphenocleaceae.

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herbs
Morphology Stem
Stem prostrate to procumbent or ascending, 2–12 cm tall, usually divaricately branched, rarely unbranched, glabrous or papillose
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite or in whorls of 4, oblong-spatulate to elliptic, 4–15 mm, glabrous to papillose, sometimes slightly succulent
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, scarious
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes many-flowered, congested to lax
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts similar to stipules
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals ovate, mucronate, 1.5–2 mm, keeled with scarious margins
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals oblanceolate, hyaline, shorter than sepals
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens usually 3
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Styles shorter than ovary
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule ovoid, slightly shorter than sepals
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds tuberculate.
Ecology
Sandy clay soils, river-banks, gardens, cliffs; alt. 0–800 m;
Phenology
Flowering: May.
Distribution
Iraq. W & C Europe, Georgia, Mediterranean, Sinai, Syria, Iraq, Arabian Peninsula, N Iran to India. Introduced in S Africa, America and W Australia.
[FIQ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Annual or short-lived perennial. Leaves ovate-spathulate, c. 5–12 x 2–7 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence spreading to congested, much-branched
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals up to c. 2 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals emarginate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3–5
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds c. 0.5 mm long, usually minutely warty.
Distribution
N2; widespread in both the Old and the New World, probably of Mediterranean origin.
Ecology
Altitude c. 1550 m.
Note
First record for Somalia (Karin Xaggarood at 10°58’N, 48°52’E).
[FSOM]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Iraq

    • Ghazanfar, S. A., Edmondson, J. R. (Eds). (2013-2019). Flora of Iraq, Volumes 5.1, 5.2 and 6.0. Kew Publishing
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images