Cherleria obtusiloba (Rydb.) House
alpine sandwort
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
alpine sandwort
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
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.
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
Ecological Framework for Cherleria obtusiloba
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)
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) |
2177 | 1530 | 2680 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
22 | 0 | 78 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
199 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
253 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
AT | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(91), BAFA(39), CMA(1), ESSF(78), IMA(38), MS(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and 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.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Minuartia obtusiloba (Rydb.) House