Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Spergularia levis

Common name

A sand-spurrey

Family

Caryophyllaceae

Where found

Paddocks and disturbed sites. Sydney area north from Campbelltown.

Notes

Introduced perennial herb with a thick woody taproot, hairless. Branches usually erect from the base. Leaves in tufts at the stem base, 2.2–8 cm long, 1–1.4 mm wide, tips blunt, with a short mucro, surfaces hairless. Stipules membranous, long-pointed, rarely forked, fused to the stem for about 1/3 of their length. Flowers with 5 white petals each 2 mm long, and usually with 6–10 stamens. Sepals 2.5-3 mm long, basal spots absent. Flowers in dense clusters. Seed cases 4.5–6.6 mm long. Flowering: spring.

Definite differentiation between the species of Spergularia depends on microscopic examination of the seeds.

PlantNET description with line drawings:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Spergularia~levis  (accessed 7 February, 2021)