Minuartia drummondii
Minuartia macrantha
Drummond's stitchwort
House's stitchwort, large-flower sandwort
filiform.
occasionally filiform or often woody, somewhat thickened to moderately stout.
erect to ascending, green, 5–20 cm, stipitate-glandular, often densely so, internodes of all stems 1–3 times as long as leaves.
erect to procumbent, green, 2–15 cm, glabrous, internodes of all stems 0.3–1(–2) times as long as leaves.
overlapping proximally, perfoliate proximally, with ± loose, scarious to herbaceous sheath 0.5–1 mm;
blade green, flat, 1-veined, oblanceolate to cuneate (proximal) to oblong-lanceolate to ovate (remaining cauline), 5–30(–35) × 2–4 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, ± scarious, smooth, apex green to purple, obtuse to abruptly pointed, dull, glabrous;
axillary leaves absent.
moderately to tightly overlapping (proximal cauline), variably spaced, progressively more so distally (distal cauline), connate proximally, with loose, scarious sheath 0.3–0.8 mm;
blade straight to slightly outcurved, green, flat, to 3-angled distally, 1–3-veined, midvein more prominent than 2 lateral veins, subulate to linear, 5–10 × 0.5–1.2 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, smooth, apex green, rounded, thickened and navicular, shiny, glabrous;
axillary leaves present among proximal cauline leaves.
7–12-flowered, open cymes, or rarely solitary, terminal;
bracts ± lanceolate, herbaceous, sometimes scarious-margined proximally.
solitary flowers, terminal, or 2–5(–8)-flowered, open cymes;
bracts broadly subulate, herbaceous or scarious-margined proximally.
reflexed in fruit, 0.5–2.5 cm, stipitate-glandular.
hypanthium disc-shaped;
sepals obscurely veined, ovate to broadly elliptic (herbaceous portion ovate to broadly elliptic), 3–6 mm, to 7 mm in fruit, apex green or purple, acute to acuminate, not hooded, stipitate-glandular;
petals obovate to oblanceolate, 2–2.5 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, broadly notched.
hypanthium disc-shaped;
sepals strongly 3-veined, ovate to lanceolate (herbaceous portion lanceolate), 3.5–5 mm, to 5.5 mm in fruit, apex green or purple in part, sharply acute to acuminate, not hooded, glabrous;
petals oblong to obovate, 0.7–1.8 times as long as sepals, apex rounded to blunt, entire.
sessile, broadly ellipsoid, 6–7.5 mm, equaling or longer than sepals.
on stipe ca. 0.2 mm, broadly ovoid, 3–3.8 mm, shorter than sepals.
dark brown to blackish, orbiculate with radicle prolonged into beak, only slightly compressed, 0.7–0.8 mm, echinate with rounded tubercles.
black, suborbiculate with radicle prolonged to rounded beak, somewhat compressed, 0.7–1 mm, tuberculate;
tubercles low, rounded.
0.2–1.5 cm, glabrous.
Minuartia drummondii
Minuartia macrantha
Minuartia drummondii is easily recognized by the proportionally large corollas (petals to three times as long as sepals) and pedicels reflexing in fruit.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
B. Maguire (1958) segregated Minuartia filiorum (as Arenaria filiorum) from M. macrantha on the basis of habit (annual or at most a weak perennial), 3–7 flowers per inflorescence, and petals shorter than the sepals. Some populations may be distinguished using those features; the number of flowers per inflorescence is more variable than Maguire noted, and the seeds of the plants are identical with those of typical M. macrantha. We concur with W. A. Weber’s herbarium annotations that M. filiorum and M. macrantha are conspecific.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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