Thread-leaved sandwort (Arenaria capillaris) is a flowering perennial that grows in many ecozones.
- The height of the flowering plant is up to 30 cm tall, growing from a taproot.
- The leaves are mostly basal and are long and narrow.
- Two or more pairs of shorter leaves grow on the stems.
- There are many stems which are hairy and slender.
- The flowers have 5 white petals, purplish sepals, and 3 styles.
- The terminal flowers have a flat-topped shape.
- All photos taken by the author.
- After flowering capsules form on the stems.
- Sandwort often grows in sandy soils and well-drained gravels.
- Sandworts are part of the pinks family. The flowers are not as deeply notched as the starworts and chickweeds.
- Sandwort is not usually spotted in our drier sagebrush-grasslands, but can be spotted in glades, on open ridges, in the shrub zones above the drier valley bottoms, and on south-facing slopes at higher elevations.
- This species is listed as Eremogone capillaris in Eflora BC and is sometimes called fescue sandwort.
When this sandwort is in flower it is abundant in the areas we hike. It is not a dramatic flowering plant, but if we take the time to sit down and inspect it, then photograph it, it is another small wonder of the natural world.