General: Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems ascending or more often mostly prostrate to decumbent, several, much-branched, more or less glandular-hairy, 10-30 cm tall/long, 0.6-2.0 mm in diameter.
Leaves: Leaves opposite, linear, 1-3 cm long, about 1 mm wide, circular in cross section, abruptly slender-pointed; stipules egg-shaped, 2-4 mm long.
Flowers: Inflorescence several flowers in an open cluster; petals 5, pink with a white base, egg-shaped, blunt, 2.5-3 mm long; sepals 5, often pink-tinged, lanceolate, 3-4 mm long, glabrous to moderately glandular-hairy.
Fruits: Capsules 3-6.4 mm long, 3-valved; seeds brown, nearly smooth but often somewhat pimply, mostly 0.6-0.9 mm long, wingless.
1. Stamens 2-5; sepals glabrous to moderately glandular-hairy.
2. Leaves blunt; seeds usually wing-margined, 0.8-1.1 mm long S. canadensis
2. Leaves abruptly slender-pointed; seeds wingless, 0.6-0.9 mm long S. salina
1. Stamens 6-10; sepals densely glandular-hairy.
3. Seeds dark reddish-brown, nearly smooth, usually surrounded with a thin, white or brownish wing; sepals 5-9 mm long; plants native perennials S. macrotheca
3. Seeds light or dark brown or greyish-brown, finely reticulate and pimply, wingless; sepals 3.5-5 mm long, or less; plants introduced annuals or short-lived perennials S. rubra
Habitat / Range
Wet to moist coastal mudflats or inland alkaline or saline ponds in the lowland and montane zones; common in SW BC, rare in SE and N BC; introduced from Eurasia.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
