Spergularia canadensis
Spergularia media
Canada sand-spurrey, Canada sand-spurry, Canadian sand-spurrey, Canadian sand-spurry
greater sea-spurrey, media sandspurry, sand spurry, spergulaire marginée, spergulaire moyenne, stout sand-spurrey
slender.
prostrate or decumbent to erect, usually branched proximally;
main stem usually 0.4–1.8 mm diam. proximally.
stipules inconspicuous, dull white, broadly triangular, 1–2.8 mm, apex obtuse to acute;
blade linear, 1.5–4.5 cm, fleshy, apex ± blunt;
axillary leaf clusters mostly absent.
reflexed in fruit.
sepals connate 0.5–0.6 mm proximally, lobes weakly 1-veined, ovate to elliptic-oblong, 2.2–3.5 mm, to 4.3–4.5 mm in fruit, margins 0.2–0.5 mm wide, apex ± acute to rounded;
petals white or pink, narrowly ovate, 0.9–1 times as long as sepals;
stamens 2–4;
styles 0.3–0.7 mm.
greenish, 3.5–5.3 mm, 1.2–2 times as long as sepals.
reddish brown, submarginal groove absent, broadly ovate, compressed, 0.9–1.4 mm, shiny, ± smooth, papillate;
wing absent or often present, whitish, 0.2–0.3 mm wide, margins irregular.
simple to 2+-compound or flowers solitary and axillary.
Spergularia canadensis
Spergularia media
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 5 (1 in the flora).
Although a proposal to reject Spergularia media as a confused name (J. Lambinon 1981) was rejected, some authors still favor that argument, preferring to use the name S. maritima for this species.
Spergularia media is one of the “highway halophytes” (A. A. Reznicek 1980) that have spread along highways that are heavily salted during the winter, where saline areas have been created. Spergularia distribution has been investigated in Ohio (A. W. Cusick 1983), where such records were first noted in the early 1970s.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Capsules 1.5-2 times as long as sepals; sepals 2.2-3.2 mm, to 4.5 mm in fruit, apex broadly rounded; stems prostrate or decumbent; plants glabrous except pedicels rarely stipitate-glandular | var. canadensis |
1. Capsules 1.2-1.3 times as long as sepals; sepals 2.5-3.5 mm, to 4.3 mm in fruit, apex ± acute to narrowly obtuse; stems widely spreading to erect; plants glabrous or stipitate-glandular | var. occidentalis |
- Local floras:
BC, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
CalFlora, CalPhotos, 
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
IL Wildflowers
MI Flora
