red sand-spurry (red sandspurry)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Werner Eigelsreiter (Photo ID #7263)
Species Information
General:
Annual or short-lived perennial herb from a slender taproot; stems prostrate, several, branched, glandular-hairy, 5-30 cm long.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves opposite, narrowly linear, tapering to an awned tip, 5-20 mm long, less than 1 mm wide, usually in bunches, 1-nerved; stipules silvery, lanceolate, long-pointed, 3.5-5 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of a few flowers in a leafy cluster; petals 5, pink to pale red, egg-shaped, 2-3.5 mm long; sepals 5, greenish, narrowly egg-shaped, 3.5-5 mm long, glandular-hairy, with a wide, papery margin.
Fruits:
Capsules 3-5 mm long, 3-valved; seeds light or dark brown or greyish-brown, finely reticulate and pimply, wingless, 0.4-0.6 mm long.
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) |
1648 | 1648 | 1648 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
35 | 35 | 35 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
245 | 246 | 246 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 2 | 2 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to mesic disturbed areas and waste places in the lowland, steppe and lower montane zones; common in S BC, rare northwards; introduced from Europe.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Spergularia rubra var. perennans (Kindb.) B.L. Rob.
Tissa rubra (L.) Britton
Taxonomic Keys
TAXONOMIC KEY TO SPERGULARIA
1. Stamens 2-5; sepals glabrous to moderately glandular-hairy. 2. Leaves blunt; seeds usually wing-margined, 0.8-1.1 mm long...........S. canadensis
2. Leaves abruptly slender-pointed; seeds wingless, 0.6-0.9 mm long............... S. salina 3. Seeds dark reddish-brown, nearly smooth, usually surrounded with a thin, white or brownish wing; sepals 5-9 mm long; plants native perennials............. S. macrotheca
3. Seeds light or dark brown or greyish-brown, finely reticulate and pimply, wingless; sepals 3.5-5 mm long, or less; plants introduced annuals or short-lived perennials.................... S. rubra |