Burke: Spergularia macrotheca

	Spergularia macrotheca
	beach sandspurry
Habit	Herbaceous perennial with a thick, woody, branched crown, the stems decumbent to ascending, up to 4 dm. long and 1-2 mm. thick; herbage somewhat glandular-pubescent.
Leaves	Leaves opposite, 2-several per node, 1.5-4 cm. long and 1-2.5 mm. broad, tipped with a sharp, slender point.
Flowers	Inflorescence a lax, open, leafy, terminal cyme; sepals 5, 5-9 mm. long, acute; petals 5, dark to pale pink, entire, shorter than the sepals; stamens 10, attached under the superior ovary; styles 3, distinct, 0.6-1.2 mm. long.

	Spergularia macrotheca
Flowering time	June-September
Habitat	Along the sea shore, often in salt marshes and rock crevices in the splash zone.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest along the coastal areas in Washington; British Columbia to Baja California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. bocconei, S. canadensis, S. diandra, S. rubra, S. salina
Subordinate taxa	S. macrotheca var. macrotheca
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Spergularia macrotheca

beach sandspurry

Habit

Herbaceous perennial with a thick, woody, branched crown, the stems decumbent to ascending, up to 4 dm. long and 1-2 mm. thick; herbage somewhat glandular-pubescent.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, 2-several per node, 1.5-4 cm. long and 1-2.5 mm. broad, tipped with a sharp, slender point.

Flowers

Inflorescence a lax, open, leafy, terminal cyme;

sepals 5, 5-9 mm. long, acute;

petals 5, dark to pale pink, entire, shorter than the sepals;

stamens 10, attached under the superior ovary;

styles 3, distinct, 0.6-1.2 mm. long.