Minuartia nuttallii
Minuartia stricta
brittle sandwort, musk-flower, Nuttall sandwort, Nuttall's sandwort, Nuttall's stitchwort
bog stitchwort, granite sandwort, minuartie raide, rock sandwort
thickened, woody;
crown, many-branched, woody;
rhizomes and trailing stems to 60 cm.
filiform to slightly thickened.
ascending to erect, ± green, 2–20 cm, densely glandular-hairy throughout, internodes of flowering stems 0.2–2 times as long as leaves.
ascending to erect or procumbent, green, (0.8–)3–12 cm, glabrous, internodes of all stems 0.5–10 times as long as leaves.
tightly appressed to spreading, ± evenly spaced, connate proximally, with ± loose, scarious sheath 0.1–0.7 mm;
blade straight to recurved, ± green, flat, prominently 1-veined abaxially, broadly lanceolate to linear, 5–20 × 0.5–1.5 mm, ± rigid, margins rounded, scarious in proximal 1/3–1/4, apex green to purple, acute to acuminate or spinescent, navicular with small mucro or spinescent, dull, stipitate-glandular;
axillary leaves present proximally to throughout.
barely if at all overlapping, connate proximally, with tight, scarious to herbaceous sheath 0.2–0.5 mm;
blade straight to slightly outward curved, green, flat, 1-veined, occasionally 3-veined abaxially, linear to linear-oblong or subulate, (2–)4–10 × (0.3–)0.5–1.5 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, smooth, apex green or purple, mostly rounded, slightly navicular, shiny, glabrous;
axillary leaves present among proximal cauline leaves.
(3–)6–30-flowered, open cymes;
bracts lanceolate to subulate, usually scarious.
1–3(–5)-flowered, open cymes or flowers solitary, terminal;
bracts subulate, herbaceous.
0.2–2 cm, stipitate-glandular.
0.3–3 cm, glabrous.
hypanthium disc-shaped;
sepals 1–3-veined, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate or ovate (herbaceous portion narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate or ovate), 3–6(–7) mm, not enlarging in fruit, apex often purple, acute to acuminate or spinescent, not hooded, stipitate-glandular;
petals obovate, 0.5–1.6 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, entire.
hypanthium disc-shaped;
sepals 1–3-veined, often prominently, becoming ribbed in fruit, broadly elliptic to ovate (herbaceous portion broadly elliptic to ovate), (1.5–)2.5–3.2 mm, to 4 mm in fruit, apex green to purple, acute to acuminate, not hooded, glabrous;
petals lanceolate to spatulate or orbiculate, (0.6–)0.8–1 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, entire, or petals rudimentary or absent.
on stipe ca. 0.1–0.2 mm, ovoid, 5 mm, usually shorter than sepals.
on stipe ca. 0.1–0.2 mm, ovoid, 2.5–3.2 mm, shorter than or equaling sepals.
reddish brown to dark brown, oblong-elliptic with hilar notch on 1 end, 1.5–2.7 mm, tuberculate;
tubercles low-rounded.
brown or reddish brown, orbiculate with radicle prolonged into rounded bump, somewhat compressed, 0.4–0.6 mm, smooth or obscurely low-tuberculate (50x).
= 22 (Europe), 26, 30 (Europe).
Minuartia nuttallii
Minuartia stricta
Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).
Minuartia nuttallii, M. decumbens, M. rosei, and M. stolonifera form a complex that, together with the eastern species M. caroliniana and M. michauxii, comprise sect. Sclerophylla Mattfeld. The four western species all have capsules that contain one to three(?) large (1.5–2.8 mm) seeds; unfortunately, these plants appear to be collected only rarely in fruit.
Minuartia nuttallii includes four varieties, which can, for the most part, be easily recognized. There is some overlap between var. gracilis and var. fragilis in western Nevada and southeastern Oregon, where some plants exhibit prominently arcuate-spreading leaves (as in var. fragilis) and weakly veined sepals (as in var. gracilis).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Minuartia stricta is circumpolar and sometimes has been included within M. michauxii (e.g., B. Maguire 1958; H. J. Scoggan 1978–1979, part 3).
Plants from alpine sites in California are, in spite of smaller stature and often smaller floral parts, Minuartia stricta. Colorado populations appear to vary widely in habit, but floral and fruit features match M. stricta.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaf blade apices spinecent; sepal apices spinescent | → 2 |
1. Leaf blade apices acute to acuminate, somewhat navicular; sepal apices acuminate | → 3 |
2. Leaves prominently arcuate-spreading, blade 10-20 mm; sepals (1-)3-veined | var. fragilis |
2. Leaves appressed to occasionally arcuate- spreading, blade 5-7 mm; sepals 1(-3)-veined | var. gracilis |
3. Sepals lanceolate to narrowly so; petals 0.5-1.2 times as long as sepals | var. nuttallii |
3. Sepals ovate to lanceolate; petals 1.1-1.6 times as long as sepals | var. gregaria |
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CA, 
OR - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
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