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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE SPRINGBEAUTY FAMILY | |||||||||
| The spring-beauty family is widespread in warm climate, especially in western North America. These plants are fleshy herbs or shrubs. The leaves are simple and are opposite or alternate on the stem or in basal rosettes. The flowers are in clusters at the top of the stem or in the axils of the leaves. The flowers have two to nine sepals and up to 19 coloured petals. Each flower has four to many stamens. The fruit is a capsule which releases two to many seeds. In many genera, the seeds have appendages to attract ants for seed dispersal. | |||||||||
| NARROWLEAF MINERSLETTUCE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Montia linearis | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Narrowleaf minerslettuce grows up to 30 cm tall from slender fibrous roots. The stems are erect and may be branched near the base. The leaves are alternate and up to 4 cm long and 4 mm wide. The leaves are linear or thread-like in shape. There are several loosely-flowered, unbranched clusters at the top of the stem. The petals are white to pale pink in colour. The capsules release black, shiny seeds. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Narrowleaf minerslettuce grows in moist springy pool margins and grasslands. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Narrowleaf minerslettuce is endangered because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted to the southwestern corner of the province. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY NARROWLEAF MINERSLETTUCE | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves long and linear? * Are the stems branched near the base? * Are the flowers white to pale pink? * Did you find in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found narrowleaf minerslettuce! | |||||||||
