E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Cherleria obtusiloba (Rydb.) House
alpine sandwort
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Ed McMackin  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #87631)

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Distribution of Cherleria obtusiloba
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from a taproot and branching stem-base; forming mats up to 40 cm across; stems prostrate to ascending or erect, short-hairy to hairy and more or less glandular above, 3-10 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves oblong to linear, numerous, 1-nerved, 3-8 mm long, less than 1 mm wide, glabrous or glandular-hairy or hairy margined; stem leaves opposite, 1-2 pairs or occasionally lacking, similar to basal leaves but usually wider, glabrous or glandular-hairy or hairy margined; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence usually of solitary flowers; flower stalks glandular-hairy, erect; petals 5, white, egg-shaped to spoon-shaped, 4-10 mm long; sepals 5, often purplish, especially at the tip, 4-5 mm long, mostly 3-nerved, oblong, rounded to obtuse, usually glandular-hairy.
Fruits:
Capsules egg-shaped-cylindric, 4-8 mm long, 3- to 4-valved; seeds 0.8-1 mm long, smooth or nearly so.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry gravelly slopes, meadows and fellfields in the subalpine and alpine zones; common in S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to AK, YT and NT, E to W AB and S to ID, NM and NE OR.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Minuartia obtusiloba (Rydb.) House

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References