Sagina saginoides(L.) H.Karst.

arctic pearlwort

WFO wfo-0000438489 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sagina saginoides, photographed by Trevor Van Loon
fig. a Trevor Van Loon, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-15 / obs. 151227118
Sagina saginoides, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. b Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 138338406
Sagina saginoides, photographed by Martin Purdy
fig. c Martin Purdy, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 108426555
Sagina saginoides, photographed by Tim Messick
fig. d Tim Messick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 106053366
Sagina saginoides, photographed by Martin Purdy
fig. e Martin Purdy, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 95462442
Sagina saginoides, photographed by Karsten Rohweder
fig. f Karsten Rohweder, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 84417437
Sagina saginoides, photographed by Alison Northup
fig. g Alison Northup, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50131119
Sagina saginoides, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. h Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 20971054

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 84 botanical countries

Regions where Sagina saginoides is native: Morocco, Afghanistan, Altay, Buryatiya, China South-Central, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Qinghai, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Italy, North European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Alaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Greenland, Idaho, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Oregon, Québec, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Yukon MoroccoAfghanistanAltayBuryatiyaChina South-CentralInner MongoliaIranIraqIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskMagadanMongoliaNorth CaucasusQinghaiTadzhikistanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeUzbekistanXinjiangYakutiyaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaNepalPakistanSri LankaVietnamWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBulgariaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceIcelandItalyNorth European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandAlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoGreenlandIdahoMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SouthwestMontanaNevadaNew MexicoNewfoundlandNorthwest TerritoriesNunavutOregonQuébecUtahWashingtonWyomingYukon KoreaSardegna
Native distribution of Sagina saginoides, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Buryatiya BRY
China South-Central CHC
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Magadan MAG
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Qinghai CHQ
Tadzhikistan TZK
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Uzbekistan UZB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Aleutian Is. ALU
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southwest MXS
Montana MNT
Nevada NEV
New Mexico NWM
Newfoundland NFL
Northwest Territories NWT
Nunavut NUN
Oregon ORE
Québec QUE
Utah UTA
Washington WAS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Bulgaria BUL
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Iceland ICE
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
India IND
Jawa JAW
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Morocco MOR AFRICA

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Great Britain, Aleutian Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 29 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Alsine linnaei Jess.
  • Alsine saginoides (L.) Crantz
  • Alsinella alpestris Bubani
  • Alsinella saginoides (L.) Greene
  • Phaloe saginoides (L.) Dumort.
  • Sagina arctica Scheutz
  • Sagina baumgartenii Simonk.
  • Sagina kevandensis Boiss. & Reut.
  • Sagina linnaei C.Presl
  • Sagina linnaei var. micrantha (Bunge) Fenzl
  • Sagina macrocarpa (Rchb.) Maly
  • Sagina micrantha Fernald
  • Sagina nevadensis Boiss.
  • Sagina olympica Stoyanov & Jordanov
  • Sagina pyrenaica Rouy
  • Sagina quinquevalvis Gilli
  • Sagina rosoni Merino
  • Sagina saginoides subsp. nevadensis (Boiss. & Reut.) Greuter & Burdet
  • Sagina saginoides subsp. parviflora Litard. & Maire
  • Sagina saginoides subsp. saginoides
  • Sagina saginoides var. hesperia Fernald
  • Sagina saginoides var. saginoides
  • Sagina saxatilis (Wimm. & Grab.) Wimm.
  • Sagina spergella Fenzl

and 5 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.