Cherleria obtusiloba
| Cherleria obtusiloba | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Cherleria |
| Species: | C. obtusiloba
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cherleria obtusiloba (Rydb.) A.J.Moore & Dillenb.
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Cherleria obtusiloba is a perennial alpine herb known by the common names alpine sandwort and twinflower stitchwort. It is native to the mountains of western North America from the High Sierra of California to the Colorado Rockies north to Alaska, and to far northeastern Russia (Magadan, Kamchatka, and Yakutia).[2] This is a low plant forming mats or clumps and bearing small thimble-shaped flowers with curving white petals.
Description
Alpine sandwort is a perennial plant that forms a tuft or mat of low growing stems, reaching just 12 centimeters (4.7 in) at most,[3] and often just 1 to 5 cm to hug the ground.[4] They have a thick and woody taproot and form a mat as much as 40 cm (16 in) across.[4] Their flowerless stems grow along the ground can be as short as 2 cm or more than 20 cm and branch. The flowering stems grow upwards, though they sometimes rest on the ground at their base.[5]
On non-flowering stems the leaves tightly overlap while on the flowering stems they are spaced variably. The leaves are thin and needle like to subulate in shape and can be straight or curve outward. They measure just 1–8 millimeters long with a width of 0.4–1 mm. Towards the base they are fused and have a tight sheath measuring 0.3–1.5 mm that can be dry and paper-like or herbaceous.[3]
The fruit is a capsule measuring 3.5–6 mm long. They are narrowly egg-shaped or else ellipsoid with three valved openings. Each capsule contains several comma shaped red-brown to brown seeds. They measure 0.6–0.8 mm.[6]
Taxonomy
Cherleria obtusiloba was described as a species named Arenaria obtusa in 1827 by botanist John Torrey.[2] However, this name had previously been used in 1785 by Carlo Allioni to describe what was later accepted as Moehringia ciliata,[7] making it an illegitimate name.[2] It was described as a species again in 1906 by Per Axel Rydberg, but using the name Alsinopsis obtusiloba. This was followed by Homer Doliver House moving it to Minuartia in 1921 and finally to Cherleria by Abigail J. Moore and Markus S. Dillenberger in 2017 to give the species its accepted name according to Plants of the World Online,[2] World Plants,[8] and the Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN).[9] The older name Minuartia obtusiloba continues to appear in the Flora of North America,[3] the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service plants database,[10] and in the NatureServe conservation evaluation.[1]
It has no accepted forms, but has 8 synonyms.[2]
| Name | Year | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alsinopsis obtusiloba Rydb. | 1906 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Arenaria biflora var. obtusa S.Watson | 1878 | variety | ≡ hom. |
| Arenaria obtusa Torr. | 1827 | species | ≡ hom., nom. illeg. |
| Arenaria obtusiloba (Rydb.) Fernald | 1919 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Arenaria obtusiloba f. rosea A.E.Porsild | 1939 | form | = het. |
| Lidia obtusiloba (Rydb.) Á.Löve & D.Löve | 1975 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Minuartia obtusa Mattf. | 1921 | species | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Minuartia obtusiloba (Rydb.) House | 1921 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym | |||
Names
The species name, obtusiloba, means "blunt-lobed".[11] It is known by the common names alpine sandwort,[12] alpine stichwort,[3] twinflower sandwort,[10] and twin-flower sandwort.[11]
Ecology
C. Obtusiloba is a gynodioecious perennial [13] which is a sexually dimorphic breeding system in which females (F, male sterile) and hermaphrodites (H) coexist in the same population.[14]
It is a member of the Caryophyllaceae family, which share flower and pollination traits within members of the family. Plants in the Caryophyllaceae family can have anywhere from one to ten stamen on a single flower. The ovary consists of multiple styles that are not fused together, and can have two to five carpels.[15]
C. obtusiloba cannot vegetatively reproduce and therefore must rely entirely on sexual reproduction to maintain its population.[16] As an alpine cushion plant, C. Obtusiloba has slow growth rates because of the harsh environmental conditions and does not reproduce until it is at least 123cm^2, which can take up to several decades.[16] In fact, according to various studies, Minuartia is one of the longest-lived forbs whose longevity has been estimated with a lifespan of up to 200 years.[16]
References
Citations
- ^ a b NatureServe 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f POWO 2025b.
- ^ a b c d Rabeler et al. 2021.
- ^ a b Holmgren et al. 2012, p. 399.
- ^ Holmgren et al. 2012, pp. 399–400.
- ^ Holmgren et al. 2012, p. 400.
- ^ POWO 2025a.
- ^ Hassler 2025.
- ^ VASCAN 2025.
- ^ a b NRCS 2025.
- ^ a b Heil et al. 2013, p. 409.
- ^ Pesman 1988, p. 25.
- ^ Chardon, Nathalie Isabelle; Rixen, Christian; Wipf, Sonja; Doak, Daniel Forest (2019). "Human trampling disturbance exerts different ecological effects at contrasting elevational range limits". Journal of Applied Ecology. 56 (6): 1389–1399. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13384. ISSN 1365-2664.
- ^ Baskin, Jerry M.; Baskin, Carol C. (2020). "Seed germination of gynodioecious species: theoretical considerations and a comparison of females and hermaphrodites". Planta. 252 (5): 1–14. ISSN 0032-0935.
- ^ Wei, Lai; Craene, Louis Ronse De (2019-09-24). "What is the nature of petals in Caryophyllaceae? Developmental evidence clarifies their evolutionary origin". Annals of Botany. 124 (2): 281–295. doi:10.1093/aob/mcz075. ISSN 1095-8290. PMC 6758590. PMID 31175350.
- ^ a b c Forbis, Tara A.; Doak, Daniel F. (2004). "Seedling Establishment and Life History Trade-offs in Alpine Plants". American Journal of Botany. 91 (7): 1147–1153. ISSN 0002-9122.
Sources
- Books
- Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Steve L. Jr.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (First ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. ISBN 978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN 0161-1542. LCCN 2012949654. OCLC 859541992. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- Holmgren, Noel H.; Holmgren, Patricia K.; Reveal, James L.; et al. (2012). Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A.. Vol. Two, Part A. Subclasses Magnoliidae–Caryophyllidae. New York: New York Botanical Garden. ISBN 978-0-89327-520-4. OCLC 1039880221. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- Pesman, M. Walter (1988). Meet the Natives : A Beginner's Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wild Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs (Eighth ed.). Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Publishing for Denver Botanic Gardens. ISBN 978-0-87108-731-7. OCLC 17732587. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- Web sources
- Hassler, Michael (12 October 2025). "Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 25.10". World Plants. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- NatureServe (3 October 2025). "Minuartia obtusiloba". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- NRCS (19 October 2025), "Minuartia obtusiloba (Rydb.) House", PLANTS Database, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- POWO (2025). "Arenaria obtusa All". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- POWO (2025). "Cherleria obtusiloba (Rydb.) A.J.Moore & Dillenb". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- Rabeler, Richard K.; Hartman, Ronald L.; Utech, Frederick H. (2 December 2021) [In print 2005]. "Minuartia obtusiloba". Flora of North America. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-19-522211-1. OCLC 505361817. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- VASCAN; Acadia University; Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre; University of Toronto Mississauga; University of British Columbia (2025). "Cherleria obtusiloba - Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN)". Canadensys. Retrieved 19 October 2025.