Minuartia glabra
Minuartia elegans
Appalachian sandplant, Appalachian stitchwort
elegant stitchwort
filiform.
filiform to slightly thickened.
erect or ascending, green, 9–20 cm, glabrous, internodes of all stems 2–7 times as long as leaves.
erect to arcuate-ascending, green, commonly purplish, 3–8 cm, glabrous, internodes of all stems 0.2–1.5 times as long as leaves.
overlapping proximally (basal rosette absent at flowering), connate proximally, with ± loose, scarious sheath 0.2–0.5 mm;
blade ascending to spreading, green, 1-veined abaxially, flat, linear, 5–20(–30) × 0.5 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, slightly scarious, smooth, apex green to purple, rounded to acute, dull, glabrous;
axillary leaves absent.
tightly overlapping, usually connate proximally, with ± loose, scarious sheath 0.2–0.7 mm;
blade ascending to variously curved, green, commonly purplish, flat, prominently 1-veined abaxially, linear to subulate, 3–10 × 1–2 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, smooth, apex green to purple, rounded, navicular, shiny, glabrous;
axillary leaves present among cauline leaves.
8–15-flowered, open, leafy cymes;
bracts linear to subulate, mostly herbaceous.
solitary flowers, terminal;
bracts linear to subulate, herbaceous.
0.5–2 cm, glabrous.
1–4 cm, glabrous.
hypanthium disc-shaped;
sepals obscurely veined, oblong-lanceolate, lanceolate, to elliptic (herbaceous portion oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate to elliptic), 1.5–4 mm, to 4.5 mm in fruit, apex green, ± rounded, not hooded, glabrous;
petals clawed, broadly obovate, 1.5–2.2 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, shallowly notched.
hypanthium disc-shaped;
sepals 3-veined, midrib prominent, lateral veins 1/4–1/2 times as long as sepals, ovate to lanceolate (herbaceous portion ovate to lanceolate), 2–4 mm, not enlarging in fruit, apex often purple, rounded to acute, not hooded, glabrous;
petals oblong to obovate, 0.8–1 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, entire, rarely absent.
on stipe 0.1 mm or shorter, broadly ellipsoid, 3.5 mm, shorter than sepals.
on stipe ca. 0.2 mm, ellipsoid, 2–4 mm, equaling sepals.
brown, obliquely triangular with adaxial groove, radicle prolonged into short beak, compressed, 0.5–0.8 mm, low-tuberculate.
reddish brown, suborbiculate with radicle prolonged into rounded beak, somewhat compressed, 0.6–1 mm, tuberculate;
tubercles low, rounded, elongate.
= 20.
= 30, 60.
Minuartia glabra
Minuartia elegans
Minuartia glabra, along with M. groenlandica (Retzius) Ostenfeld and M. uniflora (Walter) Mattfeld, comprise the so-called granite outcrop arenarias of the southeastern United States. These species have been studied extensively, both systematically (e.g., J. F. McCormick et al. 1971; R. E. Weaver 1970) and for pollination biology (R. Wyatt 1984).
At this time, we follow R. E. Weaver (1970) in maintaining Minuartia glabra separate from M. groenlandica. The species are very similar morpho-logically, including sharing clawed petals and obliquely triangular seeds, like those in most Sagina species but unique among North American Minuartia species; the annual versus perennial habit and, at least in the southeast, phenology and elevation can be used to distinguish these taxa. Further studies in northern populations may be warranted to resolve the question completely.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Minuartia elegans is a part of the M. rossii complex (S. J. Wolf et al. 1979), and is an amphi-Beringian species. The plants are tufted and are known in the flora area only from northwestern Canada and Alaska. Reports from the Pacific Northwest and southern Rocky Mountains likely are referable to M. austromontana.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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