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Mollugo verticillata

L. (1753)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Molluginaceae Genus: Mollugo

threadstem carpetweed

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual herbs.

Stems: Stems numerous, ascending, filiform, 0.4–1.5(–2) dm long.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Basal leaves in a rosette, cauline leaves whorled 5–10 per node. Basal leaves linear–spatulate to narrowly oblanceolate, basal leaves 1–1.5 cm long, 0.2–0.3 cm wide, stem leaves linear; 1–2 cm long, ca. 0.1–0.15 cm wide. Surfaces glaucous. Margins entire. Petioles 0.8–1.1 mm long. Stipules membranous.

Flowers: Flowers in axillary in verticils. Flowers small, bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic, the capillary pedicels often longer than leaves, filiform. Calyx of 5 sepals, elliptic to elliptic–obovate, ca. 1 mm long, reticulate–nerved, margins scarious, persistent. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens usually 5; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, 3-celled, axile placentation; ovules anatropous.

Fruit: Capsules loculicidal; subglobose; 1.5–1.8 mm in diameter. Seeds finely reticulate; numerous; true endosperm absent.

Ploidy: 2n = 18

Habitat: Low elevation dry sites.

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

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Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

O'ahu Naturalized
Molokai Potentially naturalizing
Lana'i Naturalized
Maui Potentially naturalizing
Hawai'i Naturalized

Dispersal Agents

Water/Ocean

Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Sp. Pl.: 89 (1753)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:922 (H [as M. cerviana]); Herbst et al. 2004:9 (O); Imada et al. 2008:13 (L); Oppenheimer 2016:24 (EM); Faccenda & Daehler 2024:35 (Mo); Faccenda & Strong 2024:175 (M. cerviana misapplied = M. verticillata, remove EM [re-IDed as Spergularia marina]); Faccenda, Arthur, et al. 2025:194 (EM)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Mollugo verticillata Kohala. Roadside in company with Pennisetum cladestinum. Preserved_Specimen Nagata, K.M. 4079 Hawaii BISH 1990-03-22
2 Mollugo verticillata Shores of Lake Wilson. Growing on the near shore where the water had receded. Preserved_Specimen Funk, E.J. Oahu BISH 1992-07-12
3 Mollugo verticillata South Kohala District. Collected east of Queen Kaahumanu Highway between Mauna Lani Drive and Puako turn off Dry area with scant vegetation; open grassland with scattered Prosopis pallida. Preserved_Specimen Funk, E.J. Hawaii BISH 1991-02-04
4 Mollugo verticillata Waikoloa. In lava fields adjacent to Hyatt Waikoloa Golf Course near petroglyph field. Preserved_Specimen Nagata, K.M. 4082 Hawaii BISH 1990-03-27
5 Mollugo verticillata Kawaihae, DHHL Survey Supp. Sta. B, Honokoa Stream bank cliffs grazed by goats; Prosopis forest with Cenchrus ciliaris, Pennisetum setaceum, Eragrostis pectinacea Preserved_Specimen Perlman, S. 10309 Hawaii BISH 1989-07-17
6 Mollugo verticillata Waikoloa Jct., E, along Kaahumanu Hwy dry, rocky Preserved_Specimen Herbst, D.R. 5386 Hawaii BISH 1975-06-24
7 Mollugo verticillata Kahuku, next to abandoned airstrip, close to Marconi Road Preserved_Specimen Warshauer, F.R. 5180 Oahu BISH 2001-05-25
8 Mollugo verticillata So. Kohala, Puako mauka of Queen Ka'ahumanu Hwy. on of the most common plants in these rocky pastures Preserved_Specimen Hobdy, R.W. 4353 Hawaii BISH 2014-04-10
9 Mollugo verticillata Rt 450, c.a. 6 km E of 'Ualapu'e Roadside weed in sunny, rather dry area Preserved_Specimen Faccenda, K. 2948 Molokai BISH 2022-12-29
10 Mollugo verticillata NW Lanai, Kaena Trail, at meteorological tower site No. 6 Degraded site, impacted by construction. Open Leucaena leucocephala shrubland, with Acacia farnesiana, Bothriochloa pertusa, and Heteropogon contortus. Preserved_Specimen James, S.A. 20071 Lanai BISH 2007-11-27
11 Mollugo verticillata N. Kona; Puu Oo, Land of Maniniowale, mauka of Queen Kaahumanu Hwy Rare; in exposed areas in Pennisetum setaceum grasslands. Preserved_Specimen Nagata, K.M. 4272 Hawaii BISH 1993-11-22
12 Mollugo verticillata South Kohala, Waikoloa Village Scattered on old lava field near town. Preserved_Specimen Hobdy, R.W. 4218 Hawaii BISH 2005-08-11
13 Mollugo verticillata South Kohala District, Lalamilo Ahupuaa. Along old stone wall between well sites and windfarm Common Preserved_Specimen Herbst, D.R. 9799 Hawaii BISH 1996-11-08
14 Mollugo verticillata Kaena region, unnamed gully mauka of Kalaeahole Pt In overgrazed region of Prosopis, Sida, Waltheria, and Heteropogon Preserved_Specimen Oppenheimer, H.L. 51303 Lanai BISH 2013-05-14
15 Mollugo verticillata East Maui, Kihei, Kulanihakoi Gulch Dry pasture, wash. Associated vegetation: Prosopis pallida, Cenchrus ciliaris Preserved_Specimen Starr, F. 24042501 Maui BISH 2024-04-25
16 Mollugo verticillata South Kohala Dist. Waikoloa Ahupuaa, off Parker Ranch road 4/5 mile north of Kamakoa Abundant in this area. Preserved_Specimen Herbst, D.R. 9816 Hawaii BISH 1997-02-13
17 Mollugo verticillata N.Kona, Kiholo Bay on pahoehoe behind beach ridge, with Sida and Waltheria Preserved_Specimen Juvik, J. 377 Hawaii BISH 1982-06-06
18 Mollugo verticillata Waikoloa substation; !/3 to 2/3 mi SSE naturalized grasses Preserved_Specimen Wagner, W.L. 4717 Hawaii BISH 1982-11-20
19 Mollugo verticillata Waikoloa. In lava fields adjacent to Hyatt Waikoloa Golf Course near petroglyph field. Preserved_Specimen Nagata, K.M. 4082 Hawaii BISH 1990-03-27
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