Common Name

Prickly Knawel

Family

Caryophyllaceae

Notes

Perennial forb to 30cm tall.  Rigid sharp points on the leaves, leaf-like bracts below the flowers, and on the 'petals'.  Leaves in opposite pairs, the bases of each pair of leaves joined and encircling the stem.  Leaves about 0.5-1.5cm long, linear to narrow and flat, with a rigid sharp point.  Flowers white, with 5 spreading white 'petals', in stalkless clusters at the ends of the stems, occasionally in stalkless clusters at the bases of the leaves.

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 304

PlantNet description with line drawings and photo of dried specimen:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Scleranthus~pungens

Dried plants. © copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Plants from Kg Gt Sound (probably SA), collected by Robert Brown, 1802.