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ROCK SEA-SPURREY

Spergularia rupicola

Carnation & Campion Family [Caryophyllaceae]  

month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8Aug month8sep month8sept

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8lilac
inner
inner8yellow
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ5
stem
stem8round

20th June 2008, Peel Castle, IOM Photo: © RWD
Early in the season it is sprawling mass of leaves and as-yet unopened flower buds.


20th June 2008, Peel Castle, IOM Photo: © RWD
Leaves in whorls of three or four around the often purplish stem. Leaves have many very short and silvery hairs or stipules on the edges. Flower buds have five purplish sepals, here un-opened.


20th June 2008, Peel Castle, IOM Photo: © RWD
Leaves long and linear, rounded on the underside, tapering to a point at the tip. The sepals also have silvery short stipules. The leaves not as densely covered by sticky glandular hairs as are the sepals and flower stems.


2nd Aug 2013, Hilbre Island, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
On the rocks out of reach of any spring high-tides.


2nd Aug 2013, Hilbre Island, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
Typical rock habitat next to Buck's-horn Plantain (Plantago coronopus) on the right.


2nd Aug 2013, Hilbre Island, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD


2nd Aug 2013, Hilbre Island, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
Leaves narrow linear, 5 to 15mm long, fleshy and slightly U-shaped in cross-section.


27th June 2015, Chesil Beach, Portland, Dorset. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


27th June 2015, Chesil Beach, Portland, Dorset. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


27th June 2015, Chesil Beach, Portland, Dorset. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


6th July 2006, Sea Shore, Little Orme, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Flowers have five pink petals with the sepals as long as the petals. Unlike Greater Sea-Spurrey the centre of the flower does not have a white centre. Ten stamens bear yellow pollen. Like most sea-spurreys, the flowers are on short one-inch stalks that appear to be angled strangely as if broken. The stems are often purplish.


15th June 2014, unknown place. Photo: © Maryline Calabrin
Upper flower: The flowers have five sepals which taper to a point, curved in two dimensions (which makes them look thick when they are not) which have short translucent glandular hairs on the outside.
Lower flower: Five pink petals which may have a paler edge set at an angle of 36° to the sepals beneath, which have a more distinct thin, translucent edge. Near the centre are two circles of 5 anthers (one set with the anthers nearer the centre than the other five). In the centre are a 3-pronged yellow style atop a yellow ovary. All 10 filaments are white and taper to the anthers.


30th June 2018, West Kirby, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
Underneath view of flower; the 5 sepals, which have thin translucent edges, are covered in sticky glandular hairs. This specimen gone dark purple possibly for protection from the Sun.


30th June 2018, West Kirby, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
Five sepals arranged between the five overlying petals. Yellow ovary with 3-pronged stigma. Sticky glandular hairs on outerside of sepals. The stamens are for an unknown reason absent; only their truncated white filaments survive. Flowers are 8 to 10mm in diameter.


30th June 2018, West Kirby, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
Side view of flower.


2nd Aug 2013, Hilbre Island, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
The sepals and stems are densely covered in sticky glandular hairs whereas the leaves are only sparsely hairy. Note also the short silvery stipules around where the flower stalks split from the stem.


30th June 2018, West Kirby, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
This specimen has stopped flowering and is mostly going to seed.


30th June 2018, West Kirby, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
Most seeds within the now-opened seed capsules have now gone (or are hidden from view deeper within).


30th June 2018, West Kirby, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
The leaves of this specimen has been infected by a white rust called Albugo lepigini which causes slightly-raised white blotches which eventually split open, as some have - see WHITE RUST below. [Other much smaller objects on the sticky-hairy flowers are just grains of sand - these specimens are on the wall just yards away from the sea when the tide is in].

Just below those leaves is an open but spent flower: within the 5 hairy opened sepals the fruit has split open from the top with 5 recurved teeth revealing a sizeable cache of small brown seeds ready for dispersal.



30th June 2018, West Kirby, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD




A White RUST
(Albugo lepigoni)

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2nd Aug 2013, Hilbre Island, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
The rust which commonly infects Spergularia species is Albugo lepigoni which causes white pustules to erupt on exposed leaf surfaces.




FASCIATED INFLORESCENCES caused by
(Albugo lepigoni)

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2nd Aug 2013, Hilbre Island, The Wirral. Photo: © RWD
The rust Albugo lepigoni is also probably responsible for the fasciation of these flower buds, which have not yet opened but which seem to have numerous and much tinier flowers poking out which are made from a tiny white tube with something even tinier and yellow within. Very strange. .

()

Not to be mistaken for: Lesser Sea-spurrey (Spergularia marina), Greater Sea-Spurrey (Spergularia media) or Matted Sea-Lavender (Limonium bellidifolium).

Easily confused with: Greater Sea-Spurrey (Spergularia media) but unlike Rock Sea-spurrey it is larger, the stipules are not silvery, and the flowers tend to have whitish centres. Also with Lesser Sea-spurrey but that has smaller and pinkier flowers where the petals are usually shorter than the sepals and also the sepals and stems are densely covered in sticky glandular hairs.

It is native and found on short grass or bareish ground on scree, cliffs, rocks and walls but always near the sea.


  Spergularia rupicola  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Caryophyllaceae  

Distribution
family8Carnation family8Campion  family8Caryophyllaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Spergularia
Spergularia
(Spurreys)

ROCK SEA-SPURREY

Spergularia rupicola

Carnation & Campion Family [Caryophyllaceae]  

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