Cismontane minuartia

Description

Minuartia cismontana is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name cismontane minuartia. It is native to Oregon and northern and central California, where it occurs in woodland and chaparral habitat, often on serpentine soils. It is similar to Minuartia californica and M. pusilla, but it was found to be a different species and was described as new in 1992. Minuartia cismontana is an ephemeral annual herb producing a stiff, erect, green or reddish purple stem up to about 25 centimeters tall from a thin taproot. The small, sparse leaves are up to a centimeter long and not more than 1 or 2 millimeters wide. They are green or reddish purple in color, shiny and hairless. The inflorescence contains up to 20 flowers with white petals, each on a thin branch. Minuartia is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as sandworts in the family Caryophyllaceae. Minuartias are small annual or perennial plants which grow in otherwise inhospitable conditions such as on rocky ledges and in stony soil. The genus is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, mainly distributed in Europe, in the Mediterranean region, and north Africa, southwest Asia, and the Caucasus Mountains. Many Minuartia species were formerly classed in the genus Arenaria, and the obsolete genus Alsine. In 2014, the polyphyletic Minuartia sensu lato was recircumscribed, with many of the species transferred to other genera, including Cherleria, Eremogone, Facchinia, Mcneillia, Minuartiella, Mononeuria, Pseudocherleria, Rhodalsine, Sabulina, and Triplateia. Minuartia sensu stricto is characterized by the following features: leaves linear-setaceous; 5 acute sepals with 3, 5, or 9-veins; 5 white petals; 3 styles, forming 3-parted capsules. The genus was named for Juan Minuart (1693–1768), a Spanish botanist and pharmacist.