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Chamisso's montia, spring beauty, toad lily, water miner's-lettuce, water montia

dwarf miner's-lettuce, dwarf montia

Habit Plants perennial, rhizomatous and stoloniferous, usually bulbiferous; rhizomes and stolons slender. Plants annual, not rhizomatous, stoloniferous, or bulbiferous.
Stems

erect, aerial portion 2–32 cm, subterranean portion 1–15 cm.

erect, branched, 1–10 cm.

Leaves

opposite, petiolate;

blade oblanceolate to rhombic or ovate, short, 2–60 × 1–20 mm.

alternate, erect, not distinctly petiolate, with clasping leaf sheaths;

blade linear, 5–50 × 0.5–2 mm.

Inflorescences

ebracteate.

terminal, 1-bracteate;

bract linear to oblanceolate, 1–6 mm.

Flowers

2–10, often replaced by bulbils;

sepals 2–4 mm;

petals 5, white or pink, 2–4 mm;

stamens 5, anther pink or lavender.

4–12;

sepals 1.5–2.5 mm;

petals 5, white, 1.5–3 mm;

stamens 3, anther yellow.

Seeds

1–1.5 mm, tuberculate;

elaiosome present.

0.8–1.2 mm, tuberculate;

elaiosome absent.

2n

= 22.

= 14.

Montia chamissoi

Montia dichotoma

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering spring.
Habitat Wetlands, riverbanks and streamsides from low to high elevations of coastal valleys and mountains Moist or transitional wetland habitat in coastal and inland valleys
Elevation 500-3700 m (1600-12100 ft) 800-1600 m (2600-5200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; MN; MT; NM; NV; NY; OR; PA; UT; WA; WY; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

A related species, Montia calcicola Standley & Steyermark, occurs in the Guatemalan highlands.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 487. FNA vol. 4, p. 487.
Parent taxa Portulacaceae > Montia Portulacaceae > Montia
Sibling taxa
M. bostockii, M. dichotoma, M. diffusa, M. fontana, M. howellii, M. linearis, M. parvifolia
M. bostockii, M. chamissoi, M. diffusa, M. fontana, M. howellii, M. linearis, M. parvifolia
Synonyms Claytonia chamissoi, Crunocallis chamissoi Claytonia dichotoma, Montiastrum dichotomum
Name authority (Ledebour ex Sprengel) Greene: Fl. Francisc., 180. (1891) (Nuttall) Howell: Erythea 1: 36. (1893)
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