Herniaria glabra is a biennal/perennial.
It is hardy to zone (UK) 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile.
Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Stems numerous, recumbent, as if pressed against the soil, almost naked or slightly short hairy, branched, 5-10 cm tall. The plant smells like coumarin when dry. The root is ligneous, thin, tap root.
Leaves are opposite, oblong or obovate or elliptical, small, 2-10 mm long and 1-3 mm wide, pointed or obtuse, narrowed towards the base into a very short petiole, glabrous or slightly pubescent, yellowish or light green. Stipules 1-1.5 mm long, triangular-ovate, membranous, white, finely ciliate along the margin.
Flowers are sessile, small, about 1 mm in diameter, collected in 5-12 glomeruli in leaf axils, almost spike-like at the top of the stems. Calyx 0.6 mm long, with four to five obtuse sepals, glabrous or slightly pubescent at the base. Corolla absent or represented by five white threadlike petals, shorter than the calyx. There are five stamens; filaments are slightly shorter than petals; anthers are oval, yellowish-orange. Pistil with a very short column (0.1 mm) and a bilobed stigma.
The fruit is a non-opening single-seeded capsule, 1-1.1 mm long, ovoid, exceeding the sepals in length. Seeds are almost round, flat laterally compressed, black or brown-black, shiny, glabrous, smooth, 0.5 mm long and 0.4 mm wide.
Blossoms in May - September; bears fruit in June - September . Propagated by seeds.
This plant is useful.
How to get rid of:
Mulch the aisles. A great option is to spread the mowed grass left, for example, from the lawn, between the cultivated plants. But it must be laid in a thick layer of at least 5 cm - weeds cannot germinate through such mulch.
