SPERGULARIA MARINA
Family:- CARYOPHYLLACEAE
Common Names:- Lesser sea-spurrey
Synonyms:- For a full list od Homotypic synonyms see.
Meaning:- Spergularia (L) Resembling spergula.
Marina (L) Of saline habitats.
General description:- Herbaceous plant, tufted, with spread out, hairy stems,
thickened at the nodes.
Leaves:-
1) Opposite seeming whorled, simple, narrow, parallel-sided, fleshy, glabrous, with
membranous stipules sheathing the stem and often forming an unilateral
whorl at each node.
Flowers:-
1) White, mauve or pink, with a white base, from 3-6 mm diam, joined together in
racemes from 1-5cm long.
2) Corolla, with 5 free petals approximately the same length as the sepals.
4) Petals, pink above and white near the base, rarely entirely white, not exceeding
the sepals.
5) Stamens, 1-5(-8).
Fruit:-
1) Capsule, (3-)4 6 mm, usually exceeding the sepals.
2) Seeds, 0·6-0·7(-0·8) mm, light brown, smooth or densely tuberculate, Winged,
unwinged or mixed, wing when present; lacerate.
Key features:-
1) Plant slender, with ± slender taproot.
2) Sepals usually less than 4 mm.
3) Stipules on young shoots connate for about ½ their length (forming a sheath).
4) Seeds light brown, often winged; smooth or tuberculate.
5) Inflorescence little-branched.
6) Petals at least 3 mm
Habitat:- Damp maritime sand, saltmarshes and coastal meadows, rarely in saline
or ruderal habitats some distance inIand, up to 150 m.
Distribution:- Widespread throughout the Mediterranean. Scattered around some
coastal areas of Crete.
Flowering time:- (Mar-)Apr-July,sometimes later.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
SPECIES DESCRIPTION
