''Minuartia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s commonly known as
sandwort Sandwort is the common name of several flowering plants in the carnation family, which may be members of the following genera:
*'' Arenaria''
*''Minuartia''
*''Moehringia
''Moehringia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllacea ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
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 ...
.
Minuartias are small annual or perennial plants which grow in otherwise inhospitable conditions such as on rocky ledges and in stony soil. The genus is widely distributed in the
northern hemisphere, mainly distributed in Europe, in the Mediterranean region, and north Africa, southwest Asia, and the
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
.
Many ''Minuartia'' species were formerly classed in the genus ''
Arenaria'', and the obsolete genus ''Alsine''. In 2014, the
polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...
''Minuartia'' ''
sensu lato
''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...
'' was
recircumscribed, with many of the species transferred to other genera, including ''
Cherleria'', ''
Eremogone'', ''
Facchinia'', ''
Mcneillia'', ''
Minuartiella'', ''
Mononeuria'', ''
Pseudocherleria'', ''
Rhodalsine'', ''
Sabulina'', and ''
Triplateia
''Triplateia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae.
Its native range is Mexico.
Species:
* ''Triplateia moehringiodes
''Triplateia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae
...
''.
[ ''Minuartia'' '' sensu stricto'' is characterized by the following features: leaves linear-setaceous; 5 acute sepals with 3, 5, or 9-veins; 5 white petals; 3 styles, forming 3-parted capsules.][
The genus was named for Juan Minuart (1693–1768), a Spanish botanist and pharmacist.]
Selected species
*'' Minuartia arctica'' – Arctic sandwort
*'' Minuartia austromontana'' – Columbian sandwort
*''Minuartia biflora
''Cherleria biflora'' is a species of plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is known as mountain stitchwort.
Description
The species is perennial, and forms mats and cushions. It flowers from June to August.
Range
''Cherleria biflora'' is fou ...
'' – mountain sandwort
*'' Minuartia bosniaca'' – Bosnian sandwort
*'' Minuartia californica'' – California sandwort
*'' Minuartia caroliniana'' – pinebarren sandwort
*'' Minuartia cherlerioides''
*''Minuartia cismontana
''Minuartia cismontana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name cismontane minuartia.
It is native to Oregon and northern and central California, where it occurs in woodland and chaparral habitat, ...
''
*''Minuartia cumberlandensis
''Minuartia cumberlandensis'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common names Cumberland stitchwort and Cumberland sandwort. It is endemic to the Cumberland Plateau near the Big South Fork of the Cumberland Rive ...
'' – Cumberland sandwort
*'' Minuartia dawsonensis'' – rock sandwort
*'' Minuartia decumbens'' – Lassicus sandwort
*'' Minuartia dirphya''
*'' Minuartia douglasii'' – Douglas' sandwort
*'' Minuartia drummondii'' – Drummond's sandwort
*'' Minuartia elegans''
*'' Minuartia filiorum'' – threadbranch sandwort
*'' Minuartia gerardii''
*'' Minuartia glabra'' – Appalachian sandwort
*'' Minuartia godfreyi'' – Godfrey's sandwort
*'' Minuartia graminifolia'' (syn. ''Alsine rosani'')
*'' Minuartia groenlandica'' – Greenland stitchwort, mountain sandwort
*'' Minuartia howellii'' – Howell's sandwort
*'' Minuartia juniperina''
*'' Minuartia krascheninnikovii''
*'' Minuartia laricifolia''
*'' Minuartia macrantha'' – House's sandwort
*'' Minuartia macrocarpa'' – longpod sandwort
*'' Minuartia marcescens'' – serpentine sandwort
*'' Minuartia michauxii'' – rock sandwort
*'' Minuartia muscorum'' – Dixie sandwort
*'' Minuartia nuttallii'' – Nuttall's sandwort
*'' Minuartia obtusiloba'' – twinflower sandwort
*''Minuartia patula
''Minuartia patula'', common names pitcher's stitchwort or lime-barren sandwort, is an annual plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to sections of the eastern and central United States, primarily the lower Mississippi Valley, the sou ...
'' – pitcher's sandwort
*'' Minuartia pusilla'' – annual sandwort
*'' Minuartia recurva'' – recurved sandwort, sickle-leaved sandwort
*'' Minuartia rosei'' – peanut sandwort
*'' Minuartia rossii'' – Ross' sandwort
*''Minuartia rubella
''Minuartia rubella'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by several common names, including beautiful sandwort, mountain sandwort, Arctic sandwort, and boreal stitchwort. It has a circumboreal distribution, occur ...
''
*'' Minuartia sedoides'' – mossy cyphel; dwarf cherleria. Confined to high mountains in Europe.
*'' Minuartia sintenisii'' – Troodos sandwort
*'' Minuartia smejkalii'' – endemic species to the central Bohemia / Czech Republic
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q163073
Caryophyllaceae genera