Cerastium strictum - (image 1 of 3)
Taxonomy
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Often treated as a subspecies of C. arvense
Habitat
Cliffs, talus slopes, rock outcrops, alvars, sandy or rocky plains, in neutral or basic soils.
Associates
Distribution
North temperate and boreal regions, south to VA, TN, IL, MO, NE, NM, AZ, and CA.
Morphology
Clumping or mat-forming perennial, usually tufted and taprooted; stems ascending or erect, 5-20(-30) cm, villous and often glandular distally; small axillary tufts of leaves always present; leaves lanceolate or oblanceolate to linear, acute, 0.5-2.5 cm long and 1-5 mm wide; sepals lanceolate, acute, 3.5-7 mm; petals conspicuous, white, bilobed, mostly 7.5-9 mm long, longer than the sepals; anthers 0.8-0.9 mm.
Notes
Flowers April to August.
Wetland indicator: NA
The introduced C. arvense s.s. has longer sepals (5-8 mm), petals (10-15 mm), and anthers (0.9-1.2 mm). Otherwise the two taxa are very similar, although C. arvense is more likely to be rhizomatous and more than 20 cm tall.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of
Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Haines, A. 2011. Flora Novae Angliae: a manual for the identification of native and naturalized higher vascular plants of New England. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
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© Michael Hough 2018 |