Sagina nivalis

Plants perennial, cespitose, forming low cushions, glabrous. Stems ascending or spreading, radiating from axils of basal rosette leaves, sometimes purple tinged, many-branched, slender. Leaves: axillary fascicles absent; basal in primary rosettes, secondary rosettes absent, blade subulate to linear, to 20(–30) mm, fleshy, apex apiculate, glabrous; cauline connate basally into shallow cup, blade often purplish, subulate to linear, 4–16 mm, becoming shorter toward stem apex, scarious, apex apiculate, glabrous. Pedicels filiform, glabrous. Flowers mostly terminal, 4-merous or 4- and 5-merous; calyx base glabrous; sepals frequently purplish, nearly orbiculate to elliptic, 1.5–2 mm, hyaline margins nearly always purple, sometimes only at apex, apex rounded, glabrous, remaining appressed following capsule dehiscence; petals narrowly elliptic, 1.5–2 mm, equaling to slightly shorter than sepals; stamens 8 or 10. Capsules 2–3 mm, usually shorter than sepals, dehiscing to base. Seeds brown, obliquely triangular with abaxial groove, 0.5 mm, lateral surfaces frequently with elongate ridges, abaxial surface appearing smooth to pebbled. 2n = 56, 88.

Phenology: Flowering mid-late summer.
Habitat: Sandy or gravelly beaches, coastal rocks, alluvial plains, fresh glacial moraines, low, swampy tundra, alpine areas
Elevation: 0-2800 m

Greenland, Alta., B.C., Nfld. and Labr. (Labr.), N.W.T., Nunavut, Que., Yukon, Alaska, Mont., arctic Eurasia.

Discussion

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa