Minuartia uniflora
Minuartia marcescens
one-flower stitchwort
minuartie de la serpentine, serpentine sandplant, serpentine stitchwort, serpentine stitchwort or sandwort
filiform.
stout, woody.
erect to ascending, green, 7–20 cm, glabrous, internodes of stems 1–7 times as long as leaves.
ascending, green, 4–6 cm, glabrous proximally, stipitate-glandular distally, internodes of flowering stems 6–8 times as long as leaves.
not overlapping, connate proximally, with tight, herbaceous or scarious sheath 0.1–0.3 mm;
blade straight to outwardly curved, widely spreading, green, flat, 1-veined abaxially, especially proximal, narrowly lanceolate to oblong, commonly linear, 2–20 × 0.3–1.5 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, smooth, apex green to purple, rounded to acute, dull, glabrous;
axillary leaves poorly developed.
tightly overlapping (vegetative), variably spaced (cauline), usually connate proximally, with tight, scarious to herbaceous sheath 0.5–1.5 mm;
blade straight to outwardly curved, green, 3-angled, prominently 1-veined abaxially, subulate, 4–8 × 0.3–0.8 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, herbaceous, smooth, apex green, rounded to truncate, sometimes apiculate, shiny, glabrous;
axillary leaves present among vegetative leaves.
7–25+-flowered, open cymes;
bracts subulate to ovate, herbaceous, margins scarious.
solitary flowers, terminal;
bracts lance-subulate, herbaceous.
0.5–5 cm, glabrous.
0.5–1.5 cm, usually densely stipitate-glandular.
hypanthium disc-shaped;
sepals obscurely veined, ovate to elliptic or lanceolate (herbaceous portion elliptic to lanceolate), 2–3.5 mm, not enlarging in fruit, apex green, obtuse to rounded, not hooded, glabrous;
petals oblanceolate to spatulate, 1.5–2.5 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, entire to shallowly notched.
hypanthium cup-shaped;
sepals 3-veined, ovate to broadly lanceolate (herbaceous portion oblong to narrowly ovate), 3–4 mm, not enlarging in fruit proximally, apex often purple, rounded, hooded or not, stipitate-glandular;
petals white or rarely lilac, spatulate to spatulate-obovate, 1.5–2 times as long as sepals, apex rounded, entire.
on stipe shorter than 0.1 mm, pyramidal-ovoid, 3.5–4 mm, longer than sepals.
narrowly ellipsoid, 6–10 mm, longer than sepals.
yellowish brown, suborbiculate with radicle obscure, slightly compressed, 0.4–0.6 mm, tuberculate;
tubercles low, rounded.
brown, suborbiculate with radicle prolonged into beak, somewhat compressed, 0.9–1.2 mm, smooth.
= 14.
Minuartia uniflora
Minuartia marcescens
Minuartia alabamensis was originally described to accommodate much-reduced plants from Alabama (J. F. McCormick et al. 1971). Subsequent studies have shown them to be conspecific with M. uniflora (R. Wyatt 1984).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Marcescent leaves are a characteristic feature of this species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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