Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Spergularia marina
Common name
Lesser sand-spurrey
Family
Caryophyllaceae
Where found
Coastal and inland saline lakes, salt marshes, mud flats, along streams, and coastal cliffs. Occasionally in disturbed areas. Mainly coast and tablelands. Occasional elsewhere.
Notes
Annual, biennial, or occasionally perennial herb, prostrate to sprawling or to 0.35 m tall. Stems hairless to sticky hairy. Leaves fleshy, opposite each other, sometimes clustered, 0.5-5 cm long, 0.6-1.5 mm wide, hairless to sticky-hairy, tips rounded or with a small mucro. Stipules membranous, fused to the stem for about one-third to half their length, tips blunt to scarely gradually tapering to a point. Flowers with 5 petals each 3-4 mm long (occasionally to 8 mm long), rose-purple or pink with white at the base, or whitish, and usually with 2-5 stamens. Petals sometimes reduced or absent. Sepals 1.5-3 mm long. Flowers in dense or open clusters. Seed cases 4-6 mm long. Flowers Spring.
Definite differentiation between the species of Spergularia depends on microscopic examination of the seeds.
Description mostly taken from: Adams, L.G. West, J.G. & Cowley, K.J., (2008) Revision of Spergularia (Caryophyllaceae) in Australia. Australian Systematic Botany 21: 261-262
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Spergularia~marina (accessed 18 January, 2021)
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