LESSER SEA-SPURREY
Spergularia marina
Carnation & Campion Family [Caryophyllaceae] 
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Carnation & Campion Family [Caryophyllaceae]
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status
flower
flower
inner
morph
petals
stem
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_053p9.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| A very short plant, less than 3 inches tall. The leaves are long and narrow linear, like pine needles. The flowering buds are on short stems at right-angles to the main stem, looking as though they are broken. |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_056p7.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| The right angled joints or nodes are swollen, and sheathed a little like the 'knuckles' are in knotweeds. |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_053p00.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| Close-up of the sheathed nodes of the flowering stems. The flower buds have 5 black dots at the nook of the slits in the sepals. |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_205p2.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| The five petals are tinged lilac at the extremities, fading to white at the centre. The ten or so prominent anthers are tipped with yellow pollen. |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_202p5.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| The green sepals are longer than the petals in Lesser Sea-Spurrey [not so in Greater Sea-Spurrey]. As in many flowers, the petals must rotate wrt to the sepals during opening, in this case by 360/10 degrees, or 36° |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_203p4.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| Underside of flower showing the five black dots at the nook of the cuts in the sepals. There is a thin rice-paperish membrane left on the upper surface of the sepals when the petals separate from the sepals, seen most clearly in this underside view. |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_207p1.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| In the very centre atop the pale green central body (the fruiting body, are the three short yellow-tipped styles of Sea-Spurreys (the Corn Spurreys have five). |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_061p13.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| the flower buds have black dots at the nick of the slits in the sepals. |
_2009_08_05_Blackpool_StAnnes_Lytham_198p14.jpg)
| 5th Aug 2009, muddy shoreline, St Annes on Sea, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
| The thin papery sheaths shrouding each node. |
_2015_10_10_Southport_Marshside_LBS_60198.jpg)
| 10th Oct 2015, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
| Gone to fruit by October. |
_2015_10_10_Southport_Marshside_LBS_603p1.jpg)
| 10th Oct 2015, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
| Remains of the 3 styles (on separate stigmas) still protruding from the enlarging fruit. |
_2015_10_10_Southport_Marshside_LBS_607p4.jpg)
| 10th Oct 2015, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
| The fruit split open to reveal the seeds lurking in the inner recesses, many others fell out as I gouged it open with fingernails in a pincer movement. |
_2015_10_10_Southport_Marshside_LBS_619p4.jpg)
| 10th Oct 2015, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
| The seeds are flesh-coloured with wings (membranous flashes around the edges). |
_2015_10_10_Southport_Marshside_LBS_621p87.jpg)
| 10th Oct 2015, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
| The seeds are about 1.5mm across including the wings (0.6 - 0.8mm across excluding the wings). [The only other Sea-spurrey with winged seeds is Greater Sea-Spurrey, but they are about 1.5x larger including the wider wings). |
_2015_10_10_Southport_Marshside_LBS_613p9.jpg)
| 10th Oct 2015, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
| Seeds are flattened with membranous diaphanous wings. |
_2015_10_10_Southport_Marshside_LBS_605p77.jpg)
| 10th Oct 2015, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
| As with most other plants which grow within range of salt-spray near the sea, the leaves and stems are covered in small white pimples which attempt to get rid of excess salt. |
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Hybridizes with : Rock Sea-Spurrey (Spergularia rupicola) to produce Spergularia marina × rupicola.
Lesser Sea-spurrey lacks the densely stickily hairs of Rock Sea-Spurrey ( Some similarities to : The Corn Spurreys, but the Corn Spurreys have five styles (very centre) whereas the Sea-Spurreys have but three. All sea-spurreys are hypogynous (possessing the flower parts such as sepals, petals and stamens beneath the ovary). Lesser Sea-spurrey has between (0) 2 and 7 (10) stamens and zer (3) staminodes.
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 Spergularia
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marina
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⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Caryophyllaceae
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 Spergularia (Spurreys) |
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Carnation & Campion Family [Caryophyllaceae]
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BSBI maps