Sagina
(from sagina, fatness; alluding to the presumed nourishing qualities of the plants for sheep). Pearl Weed; Pearlwort. ORD. Caryophylleae. A genus comprising about eight species of small, tufted, annual or perennial herbs (mostly weeds), natives of the temperate and frigid regions of the Northern hemisphere, one being also broadly dispersed over the Southern hemisphere. Flowers small, usually long-pedicellate; sepals four or five; petals four or five, entire or loosely emarginate, sometimes minute or wanting. Leaves subulate. S. pilifera is a hardy evergreen, suitable, in some situations, as a substitute for grass edging. "To raise from seed, sow in May. To establish an edging from plants, plant patches in September, about 2in. apart. They require to be frequently beaten flat with the back of the spade. It seems too apt to become patchy to be relied on for any extensive surface, like a lawn" (N. E. Brown).
S. pilifera (hair-bearing). fl. white; petals twice as large as the calyx; peduncles very long. July and August. l. opposite, linear, awned, rather stiff, glabrous, in bundles. Stems creeping, branched, tufted. h. 2in. Corsica, 1826.
S. p. aurea (golden). This only differs from the type in its golden-yellow foliage. It is a good plant for carpet bedding.