General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems erect, simple, bluish-green, 1-15 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves numerous, linear, 2-12 cm long, 0.5-1.5 mm wide, blue-green; stem leaves paired, opposite, linear to linear-lanceolate, 0.5-4 cm long, free or fused on one side less than half their length, bluish-green.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of stalked to unstalked racemes 5-20 mm long with 2-7 flowers on recurved stalks, the stalks 3-10 mm long, with one bract subtending the lowest flower; petals 5, white or pale pink, 2.5-4.5 mm long; sepals 2, 1-2 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, 2-3 mm long; seeds 3, elliptic, dull black, 1-1.5 mm long, with small rounded swellings (at 20x magnification), the appendages brownish, fleshy or shrunken.
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
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Claytonia spathulata
Claytonia spathulata var. exigua (Torr. & A. Gray) Hook. & Arn.
Claytonia spathulata var. rosulata (Eastw.) McNeill
Claytonia spathulata var. spathulata
Claytonia spathulata var. tenuifolia Torr. & A. Gray
Montia spathulata
Montia spathulata var. exigua (Torr. & A. Gray) B.L. Rob.
Montia spathulata var. rosulata (Eastw.) J.T. Howell
Montia spathulata var. spathulata
Montia spathulata var. tenuifolia (Torr. & A. Gray) Munz
1. Cauline leaves distinct or partially connate into horn shape; petals 2-6 mm................subsp. exigua
1. Cauline leaves perfoliate; petals 2-3 mm...................subsp. glauca Source: Flora North America Online. |