Flora of North America species comparison

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Montia linearis

Montia fontana

line-leaf Indian lettuce, line-leaf montia, narrow leaf water chickweed, narrow-leaf montia, narrow-leafed montia, narrowleaf miner's-lettuce

annual water miner's-lettuce, blinks, spring water chickweed, water blinks, water chickweed, water montia
Habit Plants annual, not rhizomatous, stoloniferous, or bulbiferous. Plants annual or biennial, never bulbiferous.
Stems

erect, branched or simple, 2–30 cm.

prostrate or decumbent, 1–30 cm, freely rooting at nodes, forming mats.
Leaves

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

blade linear, 2–60 × 1–4 mm.

opposite, sessile;

blade oblanceolate to rhombic, 2–20 × 0.5–10 mm.
Inflorescences

terminal, 1-bracteate;

bract linear to oblanceolate, to 20 × 2 mm.

leafy.
Flowers

2–8;

sepals 3–7 mm;

petals 5, white, 4–6 mm;

stamens 3–5, anther yellow.

1–8, slightly bilateral;

sepals 1–1.5 mm;

petals 5, connate proximally, white, unequal, 1–2 mm;

stamens 3, anther pink or yellow.
Seeds

1.2–2.6 mm, tuberculate;

elaiosome absent.

0.7–1.2 mm, tuberculate;

elaiosome present.
2n

= 28.

= 20, 40.

Montia linearis

Montia fontana
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry to moist habitats, coastal and inland valleys to montane, coniferous forests Pools, springs, meadows, other wet or moist places
Elevation 0-2500 m (0-8200 ft) 0-3700 m (0-12100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MS; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MA; ME; MT; NH; NV; NY; OR; UT; VT; WA; WY; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; YT; SPM; Central America; South America; Africa; Greenland; Asia; Europe; Arctic regions
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Montia linearis is a highly uniform species.

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

Montia fontana displays a multitude of forms varying in stature, leaf shape, and seed size. Segregate species, varieties, and subspecies have been named. Based on my study of worldwide collections of the species, much variation in M. fontana is attributable to phenotypic differentiation of ramets produced by local environmental conditions and unrelated to genetic variation. Until macromolecular or other studies shed light on the variation in M. fontana, it seems pointless to recognize infraspecific taxa or segregate species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 488. FNA vol. 4, p. 487.
Parent taxa Portulacaceae > Montia Portulacaceae > Montia
Sibling taxa
M. bostockii, M. chamissoi, M. dichotoma, M. diffusa, M. fontana, M. howellii, M. parvifolia
M. bostockii, M. chamissoi, M. dichotoma, M. diffusa, M. howellii, M. linearis, M. parvifolia
Synonyms Claytonia linearis Claytonia hallii, M. clara, M. funstonii, M. hallii, M. minor
Name authority (Douglas ex Hooker) Greene: Fl. Francisc., 181. (1891) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 87. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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