Spergularia media var. media
Plants annual or short-lived perennial with branching caudex, stout, 7–30 cm, glabrous or sparsely stipitate-glandular distally. Taproots slender to moderately stout. Stems erect to ascending or prostrate, much-branched proximally; main stem 1–4 mm diam. proximally. Leaves: stipules inconspicuous, dull white, broadly triangular, 2.6–6 mm, apex acuminate to spine-tipped; blade linear to broadly so, 0.5–3.5 cm, distinctly fleshy, apex apiculate to spine-tipped; axillary leaf clusters mostly absent, sometimes of 2–4 leaves. Cymes simple or 3+-compound. Pedicels reflexed and oriented to 1 side in fruit. Flowers: sepals connate 0.3–1 mm proximally, lobes often 3-veined, lanceolate to ovate, 2.5–5 mm, to 7 mm in fruit, margins 0.1–0.5 mm wide, apex obtuse to rounded; petals white to apically pink, elliptic to obovate, 0.8–1 times as long as sepals; stamens 9–10; styles 0.5–1 mm. Capsules tan, (4.5–)5.5–7(–8) mm, 1.2–1.4 times as long as sepals. Seeds dark reddish brown, submarginal groove absent, broadly ovate, compressed, 0.8–1.1 mm, ± smooth, not papillate; wings usually present, white to reddish brown, 0.3–0.5 mm wide, margins irregular. 2n = 18, 36? (both Europe).
Phenology: Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat: Salt flats, salt marshes, sandy beaches, saline highway edges (Great Lakes region)
Elevation: 0-1700 m
Distribution
Ont., Que., Calif., Colo., Ill., Ind., Mass., Mich., Mont., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., Utah, Wyo., coastal Europe except ne, Asia, Africa (Mediterranean region), introduced widely elsewhere including South America, e Asia, Australia.
Discussion
Selected References
None.