Minuartia Verna, Spring Sandwort



Common name:
Spring sandwort
Scientific name:
Minuartia verna
Main flower color:
Range:
Localized areas, including the Mendip Hills, northwest Wales, the Lake District and central Scotland
Height:
Up to 10 cm
Habitat:
Bare, rocky, limestone areas, especially spoil heaps from old lead mines
Flowers:
Up to 10 mm across; five unnotched, oblong white petals and five shorter, pointed green sepals, (usually) sparsely covered by glandular hairs, as are the pedicels and stems. Ten stamens, with white filaments and purple anthers, and three styles. Sepals are whitish along the margin. Some stems are non-flowering
Leaves:
Narrowly lanceolate, fleshy, rigid, whorled, with three veins. Up to 15 mm long
Season:
May to September
Rarity:
★★★★