Herniaria
(from hernia, a rupture; in reference to the supposed effect of the plant in curing rupture). ORD. Illecebraceae. A genus consisting of eight or ten species of herbs, either small, or with a perennial stock of short duration. They are natives of Central and Southern Europe, Western Asia, as far as North-west India and Northern Africa; one species being also found in South Africa. Flowers green, small, granular, crowded in little axillary cymes. Leaves opposite. None of the species are of much interest from a horticultural point of view, and the only one worth mentioning here is H. glabra, which is sometimes used for carpet-bedding. For culture, see Paronychia.
H. glabra (glabrous). Rupturewort. fl. green, small. Summer. l. small, opposite, oblong-obovate, or rarely orbicular. Stems much branched, spread along the ground to the length of a few inches. Europe (Britain), North and West Asia. (Sy. En. B. 1171.)