Cherleria obtusiloba

Cherleria obtusiloba
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Genus:	Cherleria
Species:	C. obtusiloba
Binomial name
Cherleria obtusiloba (Rydb.) A.J.Moore & Dillenb.
Synonyms [2]
List Alsinopsis obtusiloba Arenaria biflora var. obtusa Arenaria obtusa Arenaria obtusiloba Lidia obtusiloba Minuartia obtusa Minuartia obtusiloba

Cherleria obtusiloba is a perennial alpine herb known by the common names alpine sandwort and twinflower stitchwort. It is native to the mountains of western North America from the High Sierra of California to the Colorado Rockies north to Alaska, and to far northeastern Russia (Magadan, Kamchatka, and Yakutia). ^[2] This is a low plant forming mats or clumps and bearing small thimble-shaped flowers with curving white petals.

Description

Alpine sandwort is a perennial plant that forms a tuft or mat of low growing stems, reaching just 12 centimeters (4.7 in) at most, ^[3] and often just 1 to 5 cm to hug the ground. ^[4] They have a thick and woody taproot and form a mat as much as 40 cm (16 in) across. ^[4] Their flowerless stems grow along the ground can be as short as 2 cm or more than 20 cm and branch. The flowering stems grow upwards, though they sometimes rest on the ground at their base. ^[5]

Taxonomy

Cherleria obtusiloba was described as a species named Arenaria obtusa in 1827 by botanist John Torrey. ^[2] However, this name had previously been used in 1785 by Carlo Allioni to describe what was later accepted as Moehringia ciliata , ^[6] making it an illegitimate name. ^[2] It was described as a species again in 1906 by Per Axel Rydberg, but using the name Alsinopsis obtusiloba. This was followed by Homer Doliver House moving it to Minuartia in 1921 and finally to Cherleria by Abigail J. Moore and Markus S. Dillenberger in 2017 to give the species its accepted name according to Plants of the World Online, ^[2] World Plants, ^[7] and the Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN). ^[8] The older name Minuartia obtusiloba continues to appear in the Flora of North America, ^[3] the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service plants database, ^[9] and in the NatureServe conservation evaluation. ^[1]

It has no accepted forms, but has 8 synonyms. ^[2]

Table of Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Notes
Alsinopsis obtusilobaRydb.	1906	species	≡ hom.
Arenaria biflora var. obtusaS.Watson	1878	variety	≡ hom.
Arenaria obtusaTorr.	1827	species	≡ hom., nom. illeg.
Arenaria obtusiloba(Rydb.) Fernald	1919	species	≡ hom.
Arenaria obtusiloba f. roseaA.E.Porsild	1939	form	= het.
Lidia obtusiloba(Rydb.) Á.Löve & D.Löve	1975	species	≡ hom.
Minuartia obtusaMattf.	1921	species	≡ hom., nom. superfl.
Minuartia obtusiloba(Rydb.) House	1921	species	≡ hom.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym

Names

The species name, obtusiloba, means "blunt-lobed". ^[10] It is known by the common names alpine sandwort, ^[11] alpine stichwort, ^[3] twinflower sandwort, ^[9] and twin-flower sandwort. ^[10]

References

Citations

1. NatureServe 2025.
2. POWO 2025b.
3. Rabeler et al. 2021.
4. Holmgren et al. 2012, p. 399.
5. Holmgren et al. 2012, pp. 399–400.
6. POWO 2025a.
7. Hassler 2025.
8. VASCAN 2025.
9. NRCS 2025.
10. Heil et al. 2013, p. 409.
11. Pesman 1988, p. 25.

Sources

Books

• Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Steve L. Jr.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (First ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. ISBN   978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN   0161-1542. LCCN   2012949654. OCLC   859541992 . Retrieved 19 October 2025.
• Holmgren, Noel H.; Holmgren, Patricia K.; Reveal, James L.; et al. (2012). Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. . Vol. Two, Part A. Subclasses Magnoliidae–Caryophyllidae. New York: New York Botanical Garden. ISBN   978-0-89327-520-4. OCLC   1039880221 . Retrieved 19 October 2025.
• Pesman, M. Walter (1988). Meet the Natives : A Beginner's Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wild Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs (Eighth ed.). Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Publishing for Denver Botanic Gardens. ISBN   978-0-87108-731-7. OCLC   17732587 . Retrieved 19 October 2025.

Web sources

• Hassler, Michael (12 October 2025). "Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 25.10". World Plants. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
• NatureServe (3 October 2025). "Minuartia obtusiloba". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
• NRCS (19 October 2025), "Minuartia obtusiloba (Rydb.) House", PLANTS Database, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• POWO (2025). "Arenaria obtusa All". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 19 October 2025.
• POWO (2025). "Cherleria obtusiloba (Rydb.) A.J.Moore & Dillenb". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 19 October 2025.
• Rabeler, Richard K.; Hartman, Ronald L.; Utech, Frederick H. (2 December 2021) [In print 2005]. "Minuartia obtusiloba". Flora of North America . p. 131. ISBN   978-0-19-522211-1. OCLC   505361817 . Retrieved 19 October 2025.
• VASCAN; Acadia University; Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre; University of Toronto Mississauga; University of British Columbia (2025). "Cherleria obtusiloba - Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN)". Canadensys. Retrieved 19 October 2025.