Scientific Family
Caryophyllaceae
Synonyms
Drymaria nodosa var. gracillima, Drymaria tenella
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
To 8 Inches
Riparian
No
A small erect forb with branched stems and small terminal white flowers.
Delicate erect annual with taproot about 1/16 inch, sparsely branched, with internodes longer than leaves, hairless to slightly glandular; leaves opposite, narrow; flowers white with 5 deep cleft petals; sepals pointed, 3-veined with white margins.
Habitat
Found in a range of habitats from pine forests and woodlands to pine-oak woodlands, canyon bottoms to ridges, from rocky soils and ridge tops to deep soils in dry canyons.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Low elevation
5000
High elevation
9000
Flower Characteristics
Many-flowered stems; terminal flower opens first; flower stems 3/4 to 2 inches long, hairless to minutely glandular; rounded bracts, 1/16 inch long; 5 egg-shaped sepals, somewhat reflexed at the apex; 5 petals, about 1/16 inch.
Flower color
White
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves opposite, hairless, narrowly oblong, 2 to 10 inches long, about 1/16 inch across, often rolled and coiled from tip downward, tip rounded to acute, with smooth margined stipules 1/16 inch long.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Capsule about 1/16 inch long.
Fruit type
Capsule
5 to 20 seeds per capsule.