thyme-leaved sandwort (thymeleaf sandwort)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Annual herb from a short, slender taproot; stems slender, ascending, usually much-branched, downy, often becoming glandular above, 8-30 cm tall.
Leaves:
Leaves opposite, egg-shaped to lanceolate, 3-8 mm long, 1.5-4 mm wide, 3- to 5-nerved, needle-pointed, roughly hairy; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of usually several flowers, borne in typically open, diffuse, leafy-bracted clusters; petals 5, white, narrowly egg-shaped, to 2 mm long; sepals 5, free, narrowly egg-shaped, sharp-pointed, about 3 mm long, hairy.
Fruits:
Capsules egg-shaped to pear-shaped, 3-4 mm long, 6-valved; seeds greyish-purple to black, 0.5 mm long, pimply in concentric rows.
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
Ecology
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)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
800 | 213 | 1644 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
38 | 0 | 210 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
195 | 5 | 345 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
93 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(4), ESSF(1), ICH(23), IDF(35), MS(1), PP(19) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry roadsides and disturbed areas in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in S BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Arenaria leptoclados (Rchb.) Guss.
Arenaria serpyllifolia subsp. leptoclados (Rchb.) Nyman
Arenaria serpyllifolia subsp. serpyllifolia
Arenaria serpyllifolia var. tenuior Mert. & W.D.J. Koch
Taxonomic Keys
TAXONOMIC KEY TO ARENARIA
1. Plants annuals, erect to ascending, not mat-forming or tufted A. serpyllifolia 1. Plants perennials, tufted or mat-forming. 2. Stems 2-4 cm tall; flowers solitary A. longipedunculata 2. Stems 5-20 cm tall; flowers several in a branching inflorescence A. capillaris |