Seabeach sandwort • Honckenya peploides, H. p. ssp. major,
H. p. var. major (formerly Arenaria peploides)
{Honckenya = for 1700's German botanist G.A. Honckeny}
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Photos by Ian Cruickshank (right), Gillian Harvey (bottom left), and Shane Morrissey (top left).
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Identification
Seabeach sandwort is a fleshy taprooted perennial. Its branched stems tend to trail along the ground to form 5-30 cm tall mats. Its stem base is buried, and usually only small plants or the flowering stem ends grow upright. Its fleshy stem leaves are yellowish-green, in opposite pairs, and are egg- to lance-shaped. The small, white or greenish-white flowers appear at the tips of the branches, and often have smaller petals and larger sepals.
Habitat & Range
Seabeach sandwort is a common species along ocean shorelines in sandy, rocky, and gravelly substrates. It often grows among driftwood and beach grasses. Its range stretches along the coast from northern Oregon to Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
Similar Species
There are other sandwort species found in coastal BC, but none of these could be easily confused with seabeach sandwort. While some sources give it a subspecies or variety designation (see title above), this is the only form of Honckenya peploides found in BC.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/129447-Honckenya-peploides-diffusa
Seabeach sandwort is a fleshy taprooted perennial. Its branched stems tend to trail along the ground to form 5-30 cm tall mats. Its stem base is buried, and usually only small plants or the flowering stem ends grow upright. Its fleshy stem leaves are yellowish-green, in opposite pairs, and are egg- to lance-shaped. The small, white or greenish-white flowers appear at the tips of the branches, and often have smaller petals and larger sepals.
Habitat & Range
Seabeach sandwort is a common species along ocean shorelines in sandy, rocky, and gravelly substrates. It often grows among driftwood and beach grasses. Its range stretches along the coast from northern Oregon to Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
Similar Species
There are other sandwort species found in coastal BC, but none of these could be easily confused with seabeach sandwort. While some sources give it a subspecies or variety designation (see title above), this is the only form of Honckenya peploides found in BC.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/129447-Honckenya-peploides-diffusa
References
Douglas, G.W., Meidinger, D., and Pojar, J (Eds.). (2001). Illustrated flora of British Columbia. (Vol. 2). Victoria, BC: Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management and Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbia. P. 246.
Honckenya peploides (L.) Ehrh. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 10/09/2013.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 1
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
Douglas, G.W., Meidinger, D., and Pojar, J (Eds.). (2001). Illustrated flora of British Columbia. (Vol. 2). Victoria, BC: Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management and Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbia. P. 246.
Honckenya peploides (L.) Ehrh. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 10/09/2013.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 1
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
