Spergularia salina |
Spergularia atrosperma |
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lesser sea-spurrey, salt marsh sand-spurry, salt sandspurry, salt-marsh sand-spurrey, spergulaire des arais salés |
black-seed sand-spurrey, blackseed sandspurry, sand spurrey |
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Habit | Plants annual, delicate, 8–25(–30) cm, stipitate-glandular, at least in inflorescence. | Plants annual, delicate, 6–15 cm, glabrous or stipitate-glandular distally. |
Taproots | ± slender. |
filiform. |
Stems | erect to ascending or prostrate, usually much-branched proximally; main stem 0.6–2(–3) mm diam. proximally. |
erect to ascending or arcuate-spreading, simple or branched proximally; main stem 0.3–1 mm diam. proximally. |
Leaves | stipules inconspicuous, dull white, broadly triangular, 1.2–3.5 mm, longer than wide, apex acute to short-acuminate; blade linear, (0.8–)1.5–4 cm, fleshy, apex blunt to apiculate; axillary leaf clusters usually absent. |
stipules inconspicuous, dull white to tan, broadly triangular, 1–2.5 mm, apex acute to short-acuminate; blade filiform to linear, 0.5–3.5 cm, fleshy, apex blunt to apiculate; axillary leaf clusters absent. |
Pedicels | reflexed and oriented to 1 side in fruit. |
divergently spreading to reflexed in fruit. |
Flowers | sepals connate 0.5–1 mm proximally, lobes often 3-veined, ovate to elliptic, 2.5–4.5 mm, to 4.8 mm in fruit, margins 0.1–0.5 mm wide, apex acute to rounded; petals white or pink to rosy, ovate to elliptic-oblong, 0.8–1 times as long as sepals; stamens (1–)2–3(–5); styles 0.4–0.7 mm. |
sepals connate 0.2–0.5 mm proximally, lobes ± weakly 1-veined, elliptic to ovate, 1.8–2.7 mm, to 3.5 mm in fruit, margins 0.1–0.5 mm wide, apex broadly acute to rounded; petals white to rosy, ± ovate, 0.7–0.8 times as long as sepals; stamens 4–8; styles 0.4–0.8 mm. |
Capsules | greenish to tan, 2.8–6.4 mm, 1–1.5 times as long as sepals. |
greenish, 3.3–5 mm, 1–1.3 times as long as sepals. |
Seeds | light brown to reddish brown, with submarginal groove, broadly ovate, ± plump, 0.5–0.7(–0.8) mm, dull, ± smooth, often with gland-tipped papillae (30x); wing usually absent or incomplete. |
black, often iridescent, submarginal groove usually absent, broadly ovate, compressed, 0.6–0.8 mm, shiny, sculpturing of parallel, wavy lines, not papillate (40x); wing absent or, rarely, incomplete, brownish, 0.1–0.2 mm, margins irregular. |
Cymes | simple to 3+-compound or flowers solitary and axillary. |
simple to 2-compound. |
2n | = 18? (Asia), 36 (Europe). |
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Spergularia salina |
Spergularia atrosperma |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–early fall. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Mud flats, alkaline fields, sandy river bottoms, sandy coasts, salt marshes, saline highway edges (Great Lakes region) | Alkaline places, mud flats, stream beds, sandy places |
Elevation | 0-1400 m (0-4600 ft) | 30-1500 m (100-4900 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TX; UT; VA; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; SPM; Eurasia; almost cosmopolitan via introduction [Introduced and native]
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CA; NV |
Discussion | While Spergularia salina may be native in coastal areas and some inland saline sites in much of the cited range, populations in the Great Lakes region are introduced where, as in S. media, highway and sidewalk salt runoff has created favorable habitats. Variety tenuis has been distinguished from var. salina by some authors as follows: cyme crowded versus lax, sepals 1.6–3.8 mm versus 2.4–5 mm, mature capsules 3–4.4 mm versus 3.6–6.4 mm, respectively. Due to the extreme overlap in morphologic features as well as geographic ranges, var. tenuis is not recognized here. The name Spergularia marina var. leiosperma (Kindberg) Gurke has been applied to plants with smooth seeds but, as pointed out by R. P. Rossbach (1940), separation of plants with smooth versus papillose seeds is not practical. Some authors believe that the correct name for this species is Spergularia marina. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 22. | FNA vol. 5, p. 19. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Polycarpoideae > Spergularia | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Polycarpoideae > Spergularia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. marina, S. marina var. tenuis, S. salina var. tenuis, S. tenuis, Tissa marina | |
Name authority | J. Presl & C. Presl: Fl. ech. 95. (1819) | R. Rossbach: Rhodora 42: 80, plate 589, fig.3a-c.1940 |
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