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The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system, WAHerb, and DBCA’s flora taxonomic names application, WACensus, have been set to read-only mode since 1 October 2025. Recent taxonomic changes are not currently being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or the census. Due to the rapidly approaching holiday season and associated agency and facility soft closures, along with the substantial work involved in data mapping, cleaning, and verification, the migration to the new collection management software is not expected to occur before 1 March 2026, when a further update will be provided. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

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Arenaria L.

Reference
Sp.Pl. [Linnaeus] 2:423 (1753)
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Family Caryophyllaceae.

Subfamily Alsinoideae, Tribe Alsineae.

Habit and leaf form. Herbs, or shrubs (rarely, subshrubs); non-laticiferous and without coloured juice. ‘Normal’ plants. Leaves well developed. Plants with roots; non-succulent; unarmed. Annual, or biennial, or perennial. Leaves basal (tufted), or basal and cauline. To 0.5 m high. Self supporting (or cushion-forming). Mesophytic. Not heterophyllous. Leaves variable small to very large; not fasciculate; opposite; with blades; sessile; simple; not peltate. Leaf blades entire; flat; very variable. Mature leaf blades adaxially glabrous; abaxially glabrous. Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire; flat. Leaf anatomy. Hairs absent; glandular hairs absent.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Floral nectaries absent.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’, or solitary. Inflorescence few-flowered. Flowers in cymes. Inflorescences compound. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary (rarely). Flowers pedicellate; small; regular; tetracyclic, or tricyclic (rarely). Free hypanthium present (shortly perigynous). Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla, or sepaline (rarely); 10, or (4–)5 (rarely); 2 -whorled, or 1 -whorled (rarely); isomerous, or anisomerous (rarely). Calyx present; (4–)5; 1 -whorled; polysepalous; glabrous; valvate. Corolla present, or absent; 0, or 5; 0 -whorled, or 1 -whorled; polypetalous; contorted, or imbricate (rarely); white, or pink (rarely), or purple (rarely). Petals emarginate or bifid; sessile. Corolla members entire. Androecium present. Fertile stamens present. Androecium 8–10. Androecial members all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 8–10; diplostemonous. Anthers separate from one another; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; bilocular; tetrasporangiate. Fertile gynoecium present. Gynoecium 1 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synovarious; superior. Ovary unilocular; 1 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles (2–)5; free; simple. Stigmas (2–)5; 1 - lobed. Placentation free central, or basal. Ovules campylotropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit ca 7 mm long; not hairy; dehiscent; a capsule. Dispersal unit the seed. Fruit several. Perisperm present. Seeds minute.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Holarctic. Adventive. Not endemic to Australia. Australian states and territories: Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. South-West Botanical Province. 2n=16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 36, 40, 44, 46, 80, 100, 120, ca 200, 240. A genus of ca 150 species; 1 species in Western Australia; 0 endemic to Western Australia.