Sabulina patula, common names pitcher's stitchwort or lime-barren sandwort, is an annual plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to sections of the eastern and central United States, primarily the lower Mississippi Valley, the southern Great Plains, and the Tennessee Valley, with additional scattered populations in Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the southern Great Lakes region.[4]

Sabulina patula
1913 illustration[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Sabulina
Species:
S. patula
Binomial name
Sabulina patula
(Michx.) Small ex Rydb. (1932)
Synonyms[2]
  • Alsine microsperma Fenzl ex Torr. & A.Gray (1840)
  • Alsine patula A.Gray in Manual, ed. 2: 58 (1856)
  • Alsine patula var. pitcheri Chapm. (1892)
  • Alsine pitcheri (Nutt.) A.Wood (1845)
  • Alsinopsis patula (Michx.) Small (1903)
  • Arenaria patula Michx. (1803) – basionym
  • Arenaria patula f. media Steyerm. (1941)
  • Arenaria patula f. pitcheri (Nutt.) Steyerm. (1941)
  • Arenaria pitcheri Nutt. (1838)
  • Arenaria sphaerocarpa Martrin-Donos (1864)
  • Minuartia patula (Michx.) Mattf. (1921)
  • Minuartia patula f. media (Steyerm.) G.Wilh. & Rericha (2016)
  • Mononeuria patula (Michx.) Dillenb. & Kadereit (2014)
  • Stellaria macropetala Torr. & A.Gray (1838)

Sabulina patula is found on limestone outcrops and in rocky barrens and glades. It is a small, delicate annual species with thin red stems up to 30 centimetres (1 ft) long, erect (upright) or ascending (trailing along the ground at first, then curving upwards). It very often has numerous stems crossing each other so as to form a clump of many stems. Leaves are in pairs, narrow and rarely more than 20 millimetres (0.8 in) long. Flowers are white, forming in the spring then quickly wilting.[5][6]

Sabulina patula is highly variable throughout its range, and multiple varieties have been named, though none of these is widely accepted today.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 56.
  2. ^ Sabulina patula (Michx.) Small ex Rydb. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ NatureServe (2024). "Minuartia patula". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. ^ Minuartia patula in Flora of North America
  6. ^ Ohio Division of Natural Areas Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ The Plant List, Minuartia patula (Michx.) Mattf.
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