Spring Sandwort

Minuartia verna

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
Spring Sandwort See link - https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000003052 Cumbria,Hutton Roof Reserve,Minuartia verna,Spring Sandwort

Appearance

Herbs perennial, 3--10 cm tall. Stems caespitose, basally usually woody, distally glandular pubescent. Leaves linear or subulate, 5--12 × 0.7--1 mm, glandular pubescent, rarely glabrous, abaxially prominently 3-veined. Cyme lax, 1--7-flowered. Pedicel longer than sepals, glandular pubescent. Sepals ovate, 3--4 mm, glandular pubescent, prominently 3-veined, margin narrowly membranous, apex acute to shortly acuminate. Petals ovate, ca. 5 × 3 mm, base abruptly contracted into a very short claw. Stamens shorter than petals. Styles 3. Capsule ovoid, slightly exceeding sepals, 3-valved. Seeds brown, reniform, 0.6--0.7 mm, almost smooth to acutely tuberculate. Fl. Jul--Aug, fr. Sep--Oct.
Spring Sandwort Also known as Leadwort, linked to land contaminated with heavy metals. Here, however, on a limestone pavement area. Cumbria,Hutton Roof Reserve,Minuartia verna,Spring Sandwort

Distribution

Xinjiang (Bogda Shan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, N Russia; Europe, North America

Habitat

Rocky hillsides, rock crevices; 200--3600 m

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuartia
https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000003052
Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderCaryophyllales
FamilyCaryophyllaceae
GenusMinuartia
SpeciesMinuartia verna
Photographed in
United Kingdom