• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.22-34
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• 2024

Recently, in several regions of Korea, we discovered the occurrence of Sagina micropetala Rauschert and S. procumbens L. All the plants of the genus Sagina growing in Korea are 5-merous and belong to the sect. Spergella. However, the two taxa we discovered belong to the sect. Saginella and are 4-merous. In addition, morphological characteristics such as sepals during the fruiting season and seeds were significantly different from those of species of the genus Sagina that occur in Korea. To clearly identify these species, we compared and observed their primary morphological characteristics using illustrated books and literature. Morphologically, S. micropetala exhibits the following traits: pubescence along the leaf margin, horizontally spreading sepals with red margins, and convex protrusions on the seed surface. In contrast, S. procumbens can be distinguished by its pedicels, which are curved during the flowering season and erect during the fruiting season. This plant also has broadly ovate sepals with white or yellowish-green margins, and flat seed surface protrusions. In terms of molecular analyses, 19 samples of Sagina were divided into two clades (S. micropetala and S. procumbens), confirming the taxonomic identity of the Sagina spp.