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King's sandwort

desert sandwort, Mohave sandwort, Mojave or desert sandwort, Mojave sandwort

Habit Plants tufted or sometimes in compact cushion, green, not glaucous, woody or not at base. Plants tufted, green, not glaucous, with woody base.
Stems

erect, (1–)3–20(–25) cm, stipitate-glandular or glabrous proximally.

erect, (10–)20–40(–70) cm, glabrous to stipitate-glandular.

Leaves

basal leaves abundant, persistent;

cauline leaves in (1–)4+ pairs, reduced distally or not;

basal blades erect or closely ascending to somewhat spreading, green to gray-green, filiform to needlelike or narrowly subulate, 0.3–3(–4) cm × 0.3–1.2 mm, flexuous or rigid, herbaceous, apex apiculate or stiff and spinose, glabrous to stipitate-glandular, not glaucous.

basal leaves sparse or absent;

cauline leaves usually in 5–12+ pairs, not significantly reduced;

basal blades ascending to arcuate-spreading or recurved, needlelike or narrowly linear, (0.7–)2–6(–7) cm × 0.8–2 mm, ± rigid, herbaceous to subsucculent, apex blunt to spinose, glabrous, not glaucous.

Inflorescences

(1–)3–13-flowered, ± open cymes.

3–20(–30)-flowered, ± compact cymes;

branches ascending to erect.

Pedicels

2–15 mm, glabrous to densely stipitate-glandular.

3–45 mm, glabrous or stipitate-glandular.

Flowers

sepals 1–3-veined, lateral veins less developed, ovate or lanceolate, (2.5–)2.8–5(–6) mm, not expanding in fruit, margins broad, apex obtuse to broadly acute or acuminate, glabrous or stipitate-glandular on herbaceous portion;

petals white or rarely pink, oblong to spatulate, (3–)4–7 mm, ca. 1.2–1.3 times as long as sepals, apex entire, erose, or 2-fid almost to base;

nectaries as abaxial, rounded lobe with transverse groove or elongate cup at base of filaments opposite sepals, 0.6 × 0.3 mm.

sepals 1–3-veined, ovate to lanceolate or elliptic, 4.5–7.2 mm, to 8 mm in fruit, margins narrow to broad, apex acute to acuminate, glabrous to sparsely stipitate-glandular;

petals white or yellowish, oblanceolate to spatulate, 6–11 mm, 1–2 times as long as sepals, apex entire or erose;

nectaries thickened, molarlike, apically 2-lobed, 1–1.5 mm, or narrowly longitudinally rectangular, truncate, 0.7–0.8 mm, densely minutely pubescent with erect to spreading hairs.

Capsules

4.5–7 mm, glabrous.

6–8 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

black to brown, spheric or oblong to ovoid, 1.2–2.1 mm, low-tuberculate, sometimes papillate on abaxial ridge.

greenish or reddish brown to blackish, suborbicular to pyriform or ovoid, 1.3–3.2 mm, tuberculate, sometimes echinate on abaxial ridge;

tubercles low, rounded to conic.

Eremogone kingii

Eremogone macradenia

Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; NV; OR; UT
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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

M. F. Baad (1969) considered Eremogone kingii to be monophyletic despite considerable morphological variation; J. C. Hickman (1971) thought otherwise, considering E. kingii to be a “genetic dumping ground for all the closely related taxa,” but did not propose any new taxonomic alignment.

Eremogone kingii is extremely variable throughout its range with six infraspecific taxa recognized (under Arenaria kingii) by B. Maguire (1947, 1951). We have been unsuccessful in distinguishing more than two of those taxa. The others intergrade to such an extent that formal recognition is unwarranted. Most distinctive of these here-rejected taxa is var. uintahensis, said to have sepals (4.5–)5–6 mm, versus 3.6–4.5(–5) for the other taxa. Interestingly, the type specimen has sepals mostly 4.5 mm long. In the main portion of the range of var. uintahensis, the sepals are rounded to broadly obtuse, but they may also be acute. Furthermore, the sepals and pedicels are often glabrous, but the correlation of the above-mentioned characters varies over the range.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Eremogone macradenia is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Parent taxa Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Alsinoideae > Eremogone Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Alsinoideae > Eremogone
Sibling taxa
E. aberrans, E. aculeata, E. capillaris, E. congesta, E. eastwoodiae, E. fendleri, E. ferrisiae, E. franklinii, E. hookeri, E. macradenia, E. pumicola, E. stenomeres, E. ursina
E. aberrans, E. aculeata, E. capillaris, E. congesta, E. eastwoodiae, E. fendleri, E. ferrisiae, E. franklinii, E. hookeri, E. kingii, E. pumicola, E. stenomeres, E. ursina
Subordinate taxa
E. kingii var. glabrescens, E. kingii var. kingii
E. macradenia var. arcuifolia, E. macradenia var. macradenia
Key
1. Petals white, apex 2-fid
var. kingii
1. Petals white or rarely pink, apex entire or erose
var. glabrescens
1. Cauline leaves mostly in 5-8 pairs, blade ± ascending throughout, 0.8-1.2 mm wide
var. macradenia
1. Cauline leaves mostly in 6-12+ pairs, blade curved downward, especially proximal ones, 1.2-2 mm wide
var. arcuifolia
Synonyms Stellaria kingii, Arenaria kingii Arenaria macradenia
Name authority (S. Watson) Ikonnikov: Novosti Syst. Vyssh. Rast. 10: 140. (1973) (S. Watson) Ikonnikov: Novosti Syst. Vyssh. Rast. 10: 140. (1973)
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 67. Treatment authors: Ronald L. Hartman, Richard K. Rabeler, Frederick H. Utech. FNA vol. 5, p. 68. Treatment authors: Ronald L. Hartman, Richard K. Rabeler, Frederick H. Utech.
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