Minuartia drummondii
Minuartia rubella
Drummond's stitchwort
arctic sandwort, beautiful sandwort, boreal sandplant, boreal stitchwort, minuartie rougeâtre, red seed sandwort, reddish sandwort
filiform.
filiform to somewhat thickened;
rhizomes absent.
erect to ascending, green, 5–20 cm, stipitate-glandular, often densely so, internodes of all stems 1–3 times as long as leaves.
ascending to erect, green, 2–8(–18) cm, moderately to densely stipitate-glandular (very rarely glabrous), internodes of stems 1–10 times as long as leaves; trailing stems absent.
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.
overlapping, ± tightly, distally (cauline), concentrated proximally (cauline), connate proximally, with often loose, usually scarious sheath 0.2–0.7 mm;
blade ± straight or outwardly curved, green, flat to 3-angled, prominently 3-veined abaxially, subulate, 1.5–10 × 0.3–1.3 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, smooth, apex green or purple, acute to apiculate, often navicular, shiny, sparsely to densely ciliate, often stipitate-glandular;
axillary leaves present among vegetative leaves.
7–12-flowered, open cymes, or rarely solitary, terminal;
bracts ± lanceolate, herbaceous, sometimes scarious-margined proximally.
3–7+-flowered, open cymes or rarely flower solitary, terminal;
bracts broadly subulate to narrowly lanceolate, herbaceous, margins scarious.
reflexed in fruit, 0.5–2.5 cm, stipitate-glandular.
0.2–1.5 cm, densely 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 prominently 3-veined, ovate to lanceolate (herbaceous portion oblong to narrowly ovate), 2.5–3.2 mm, not enlarging in fruit, apex green to purple, acute to acuminate, not hooded, stipitate-glandular;
petals elliptic, 0.8–1.3 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, entire.
sessile, broadly ellipsoid, 6–7.5 mm, equaling or longer than sepals.
on stipe ca. 0.2 mm, ovoid, 4.5–5 mm, longer than sepals.
dark brown to blackish, orbiculate with radicle prolonged into beak, only slightly compressed, 0.7–0.8 mm, echinate with rounded tubercles.
reddish brown, suborbiculate with radicle prolonged into beak, somewhat compressed, 0.4–0.5 mm, tuberculate;
tubercles low, elongate, rounded (to angled on edge) (50x).
= 24.
Minuartia drummondii
Minuartia rubella
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.)
Distinct among the arctic/alpine Minuartia species with its stiff, three-veined leaves, M. rubella is a circumpolar calciphile. We follow Ö. Nilsson (2001) in not recognizing infraspecific taxa that have been described based at least partly on pubescence. Variety propinqua has been applied to glabrous plants, which occur infrequently and sporadically throughout the range of the species. Where they do occur they are often intermixed with sparsely stipitate-glandular plants. This glabrous variety is rarely encountered in western North America.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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