Montia linearis (Linear-Leaved Spring Beauty) - photos and description
Clump of many plants
Looking straight down on several plants
General: Small annual plant with a branching growth habit. Plant glabrous. Leaves and stems succulent.
Flowers: Flowers tiny, white, in a raceme of up to 7. Flowers measured to 5 mm diameter.
Leaves: Leaves linear, alternate, cauline. We measured a leaf at 25 mm long and 2 mm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora from 6 to 10 cm high. We measured plants from 5 to 16 cm in height.
Habitat: Found beside springs and the banks of creeks in the Cypress upland in southwest Saskatchewan.
Abundance: Extremely rare, ranked as an S1 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Claytonia linearis.
When and where photographed: Photos taken June 9th and June 21st, in low, wet spots beside a creek, Centre Block Cypress Hills, about 400 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.