Common Name: knawel, German knawel, German knotgrassScientific Name: Scleranthus annuus L.Family Name: Caryophyllaceae - Pink FamilyIdentification NotesLife Cycleintroduced winter annual (sometimes summer annual), reproducing by seed Stemsprostrate and low sprawling, much branched, form dense mats Leavesopposite, linear or awl-shaped, leaves pairs at 90 degree angle to pairs above or below, sessile, entire, somewhat prickly, smooth, tip sharp pointed, thin clear membrane joins leaf base Flowers5-sepaled, inconspicuous, petals absent, green with thin lighter colored margins, very small, sessile; axillary clusters tight