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| Tripterocalyx micranthus (Torr.) Hook. | Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| TAXONOMY | |||||||||
| Family: | Nyctaginaceae | ||||||||
| Genus: | Tripterocalyx | ||||||||
| Species Synonyms: | Tripterocalyx cyclopterus (Gray) Standl. Tripterocalyx pedunculatus (M.E. Jones) Standl. Abronia cycloptera Gray Abronia micrantha Torr. Abronia micrantha var. pedunculata M.E. Jones |
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| Common Names: | sandpuffs small-flower sandpuffs smallflower sand verbena |
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| DISTRIBUTION | |||||||||
| Canada: | southeastern Alberta – southwestern Saskatchewan | ||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | southwestern Saskatchewan | ||||||||
| Ecoregion: | Mixed Grassland | ||||||||
| HABITAT | |||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | sandy riverbanks | ||||||||
| Associated Species: | buckbrush, Indian ricegrass, june grass, prairie sunflower, scurf pea | ||||||||
| RARITY STATUS | |||||||||
| Provincial
Status According to Harms (2003): |
Endangered |
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| Nature Conservancy Status: | G5 N1 S1 |
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| Saskatchewan
Species at Risk Status: |
Endangered |
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| COSEWIC Status: | Endangered |
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| Sandpuffis endangered in Saskatchewan and in Canada because it is extremely rare. This species is highly restricted in the province and is almost always locally sparse. Possible threats have been identified for this species including habitat loss due to dune stabilization and the presence of weedy species. In addition, most of the Canadian populations occur in a major oil field site. | |||||||||
| SPECIES DESCRIPTION | |||||||||
| Height: | 5 – 40 cm | ||||||||
| Stems: | annual, branched, with trailing branches up to 60 cm long, fleshy, pale, enlarged at nodes, glandular hairy, sparsely covered in short hairs | ||||||||
| Leaves: | opposite, 2 – 6 cm long, 1 – 3.5 cm wide, narrowly oval to round, veins prominent, hairless above, with a whitish bloom and rough hairs below, margin entire to hairy; leaf stalk 1.5 – 3.5 cm, glandular hairy | ||||||||
| Inflorescence: | heads dense, stalked; bracts 5, below flowers, 4 – 7 mm long, 1.5 – 2 mm wide, distinct | ||||||||
| Flowers: | small; sepals petal-like, tube 5 mm wide, constricted above the ovary, limb whitish or greenish; petals absent; stamens 5; ovary ellipsoid | ||||||||
| Fruits: | 1.5 – 2.5 cm long, 1 – 2 cm wide, elliptic in outline, body spindle-shaped, leathery, pale green to pinkish to blackish in late stages; wings 3, membranous, strongly nerved; seeds yellow brown, dull | ||||||||
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