Minuartia glabra
Minuartia macrocarpa
Appalachian sandplant, Appalachian stitchwort
large-fruit sandwort, long-pod stitchwort
filiform.
stout, woody.
erect or ascending, green, 9–20 cm, glabrous, internodes of all stems 2–7 times as long as leaves.
erect to ascending, green, 3–10 cm, glabrous or sometimes stipitate-glandular, internodes of flowering stems 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 (vegetative), variably spaced (cauline), usually connate proximally, with tight, scarious to herbaceous sheath 1–1.5 mm;
blade straight to outwardly curved, green, flat, 3-veined, often prominently so abaxially, linear to oblong or narrowly lanceolate, 4–14 × 0.5–2 mm, flexuous, margins thickened, ± coriaceous, ciliate, often densely so, apex green, rounded, navicular, shiny, glabrous or essentially so throughout or abaxially, sometimes pubescent adaxially, hairs resembling cilia;
axillary leaves present among vegetative leaves.
8–15-flowered, open, leafy cymes;
bracts linear to subulate, mostly herbaceous.
solitary flowers, terminal;
bracts linear, herbaceous.
0.5–2 cm, glabrous.
0.4–1 cm, usually densely stipitate-glandular.
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 cup-shaped;
sepals prominently 3-veined proximally, lanceolate to oblong (herbaceous portion often purple, lanceolate to oblong), 4.5–6 mm, to 9 mm in fruit, apex often purple, rounded, hooded, stipitate-glandular;
petals broadly obovate, 1.2–1.6 times as long as sepals, apex blunt or rounded, entire.
on stipe 0.1 mm or shorter, broadly ellipsoid, 3.5 mm, shorter than sepals.
narrowly ellipsoid, 10–18 mm, longer than sepals.
brown, obliquely triangular with adaxial groove, radicle prolonged into short beak, compressed, 0.5–0.8 mm, low-tuberculate.
red-brown to brown, orbiculate with radicle prominent and notch filled with papillae, somewhat compressed, 1–1.1 mm (excluding papillae), rounded-tuberculate, ringed with longitudinal, cylindrical, tan papillae 0.5–0.8 mm.
= 20.
= 44 (Russia), 46, 48 (Russia).
Minuartia glabra
Minuartia macrocarpa
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.)
An amphi-Beringian species, Minaurtia macrocarpa is easily distinguished by having the largest capsules of any North American Minuartia.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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