chaffweed
Myrsinaceae (Myrsine family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Introduction
In North America, this species is found in many US states and in three Canadian provinces (BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan) (USDA 2011). In British Columbia, it is found primarily on southeastern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, with some occurrences in the Fraser Valley. Habitats include moist to wet river banks, salt marshes, vernal pools and pond margins in the lowland zone.
In his article on the rare plants of the Fraser Valley, Lomer (2011) says: "This diminutive annual had not been collected in the Fraser Valley prior to about 1999. Since that time it has been discovered at 8 sites in the Greater Vancouver area (UBC: Lomer 5668). All sites were man-made habitats and I believe that this species is a recent introduction here. It has been found in cranberry bogs, sand dredgings, disturbed peaty road clearings, gravelly roadside depressions, cleared moist gravel flats, old gravel pits, and wet field pools. It appears to be spreading." Extracted from Botanical Electronic News #432, January 2010, with permission. |
Species Information
General:
Plants annual, fibrous-rooted.
Leaves:
Leaves alternate (or some opposite near base of plant), ovate or obovate to spatulate, confluent with the stem, 2-11 mm.
Flowers:
Flowers sessile or short-stalked; corollas inconspicuous, salverform to slightly campanulate, white to pinkish, 1.5-2 mm wide; calyces divided almost to base, exceeding the corolla, 1.5-3 mm, lobes lanceolate and lacking scarious margins; pedicel 0-1 mm. Flowering May-Jun.
Fruits:
Capsules 1.5-2 mm.
Stems:
Stems erect or ascending (sometimes decumbent and rooting at the nodes), solitary or several, unbranched or branched near the base, 1-10 cm tall.
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014.
Author: Jamie Fenneman
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet vernal pools, shorelines, salt marshes, river banks, and disturbed areas in the lowland zone. Rare (infrequent?) in sw BC (s Vancouver I., Gulf Is., Lower Fraser Valley); BC east to NS, south to Mexico; Eurasia, South America.Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014.
Author: Jamie Fenneman
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Anagallis minima (L.) Krause
Taxonomic Keys
Key to Anagallis
1a. Corollas showy, 3.5-7 mm across, reddish (rarely blue), lobes exceeding the calyx; pedicels 10-40 mm…….….……A. arvensis 1b. Corollas very inconspicuous, 1-2 mm across, white to pink, not exceeding the calyx; pedicels 0-1 mm…….....……...A. minima
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014 |
Taxonomic Notes
This small, inconspicuous species is easily overlooked and may be somewhat more common than its conservation status suggests. The corollas are present only briefly, and the plant is much more conspicuous when sporting the enlarged, globose, axillary capsules. Its native status outside of Europe is not well established, and it may potentially be a widespread cosmopolitan weed with a European origin rather than a native species in the Americas. Its common occurrence in habitats that support other rare native species (such as vernal pools) suggests a native status, but it also occurs in disturbed areas amongst exotic weeds.
Source: The Vascular Flora of British Columbia, draft 2014 |