''Cardionema ramosissimum'' is a beach-dwelling plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

, which is known by the common name sandcarpet.

Description

''Cardionema ramosissimum'' is a flat or clumping mat-forming perennial plant which grows along the coastline of western North America, as well as

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. From a

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

it extends many petite to sprawling stems up to 30 centimeters long and covered in very tiny leaves, which are about a centimeter long and needlelike. Filling in the spaces between the spine-shaped leaves are long

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s. The plant bears tiny woolly flowers. ;Uses This thick plant forms a blanket on the sand and can be used for

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

control on beaches.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Cardionema ramosissimum''USDA Plants Profile''Cardionema ramosissimum'' — U.C.Photo gallery
Caryophyllaceae Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of Chile Flora of California Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Caryophyllaceae-stub