Saltmarsh Sandspurry (salt marsh sand-spurry; salt sandspurry)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems ascending or more often mostly prostrate to decumbent, several, much-branched, more or less glandular-hairy, 10-30 cm tall/long, 0.6-2.0 mm in diameter.
Leaves:
Leaves opposite, linear, 1-3 cm long, about 1 mm wide, circular in cross section, abruptly slender-pointed; stipules egg-shaped, 2-4 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence several flowers in an open cluster; petals 5, pink with a white base, egg-shaped, blunt, 2.5-3 mm long; sepals 5, often pink-tinged, lanceolate, 3-4 mm long, glabrous to moderately glandular-hairy.
Fruits:
Capsules 3-6.4 mm long, 3-valved; seeds brown, nearly smooth but often somewhat pimply, mostly 0.6-0.9 mm long, wingless.
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) |
921 | 918 | 924 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
1 | 0 | 3 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
239 | 240 | 240 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 5 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
E | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
2 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
IDF(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to moist coastal mudflats or inland alkaline or saline ponds in the lowland and montane zones; common in SW BC, rare in SE and N BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
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 1. Stamens 6-10; sepals densely glandular-hairy. 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 |