Kingdom Plantae Family Caryophyllaceae Scientific name Minuartia cismontana | Order Caryophyllales Genus Minuartia Rank Species | |
Similar Minuartia douglasii, Minuartia nuttallii, Minuartia uniflora, Minuartia patula, Minuartia obtusiloba | ||
Minuartia cismontana is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common name cismontane minuartia.
It is native to Oregon and northern and central California, where it occurs in woodland and chaparral habitat, often on serpentine soils. It is similar to Minuartia californica and M. pusilla, but it was found to be a different species and was described as new in 1992.
Description
Minuartia cismontana is an ephemeral annual herb producing a stiff, erect, green or reddish purple stem up to about 25 centimeters tall from a thin taproot.
The small, sparse leaves are up to a centimeter long and not more than 1 or 2 millimeters wide. They are green or reddish purple in color, shiny and hairless.
The inflorescence contains up to 20 flowers with white petals, each on a thin branch.