Species: Cerastium beeringianum ssp. earlei

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Cerastium beeringianum ssp. earlei (Rydb.) Hultén

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Caryophyllaceae

Genus:

Cerastium

Species Synonyms:

Cerastium alpinum var. capillare (Fern. & Wieg.) Boivin
Cerastium beeringianum var. capillare Fern. & Wieg.
Cerastium earlei Rydb.

Common Names:

Beering’s chickweed

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

Yukon Territory - Northwest Territories - Ellesmere Island - Baffin Island to Labrador, south to British Columbia - southwestern Alberta - northern Saskatchewan - northeastern Manitoba

Saskatchewan:

northwestern Saskatchewan; Lake Athabasca

Ecoregion:

Tazin Lake Upland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

crevices on rocky shores

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Endangered

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S1T1

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Beering’s chickweed is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is rare. It is highly regionally restricted in the province and most local populations are small. No immediate threats have been identified for this species.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

10 – 20 cm

Roots:

rhizome present

Stems:

tufted, ascending to creeping, mat forming, slender; straw-coloured, glandular-hairy, sticky

Leaves:

basal leaves 4 – 8 mm long, 1 – 3 mm wide, oblong to egg-shaped; stem leaves few, opposite, sessile, lacking axillary bundles of leaves, oblong to lance-shaped or spatula-shaped, woolly, hairs firm

Inflorescence:

flowers solitary to few in leaf axils; bracts not dry and membranous; stalks long, glandular-hairy

Flowers:

sepals distinct, 3.5 – 6 mm long, green, often purple tinged, inner sepals membranous margined; petals < 2 times as long as sepals, 6 – 8 mm long, white; styles 5

Fruits:

capsule about 2 times as long as sepals, opening by 10 teeth

*KEY TO CERASTIUM* IN SASKATCHEWAN**
C. alpinum and C. beeringianum* ssp. earlei may intergrade in Saskatchewan

1 Stems lax, weak; fruiting stalks hooked; lacking leafy offshoots	C. nutans var. nutans
1 Stems firm; fruiting stalks straight or curved; with leafy offshoots	2

2 Petals shorter than or equal to sepals	C. fontanum ssp. vulgare
2 Petals distinctly longer than sepals (up to 2 – 3 times as long)	3

3 Petals twice as long as sepals; leaves linear to narrowly oval; upper leaves with axillary clusters of leaves	C. arvense ssp. strictum
3 Petals less than twice as long as sepals; leaves inversely lance-shaped to lance-shaped or spoon-shaped; upper leaves without axillary clusters of leaves	4

4 Tips of leaves of sterile basal offshoots with shiny, weak, woolly hairs; sepals square at base; petals 7 – 20 mm long; hairs of long, curvy hairs	C. alpinum
4 Tips of leaves without weak, shiny woolly hairs; sepals rounded at base; petals 6 – 8 mm; hairs of long straight, stiff hairs	C. beeringianum ssp. earlei