''Montia parvifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Montiaceae known by the common names little-leaf miner's lettuce,
small-leaved blinks
and small-leaved montia. It is native to western North America from
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
to
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
, where it grows in moist to wet areas in several types of mountain habitat.
Description
''Montia parvifolia'' is a perennial herb growing erect to about tall from a matted, branching
caudex base. It spreads via leafy
stolon
In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...
s with sprouting bulblets. The fleshy oval leaves are alternately arranged in a rosette and measure up to in length. The flower stems (
peduncles) arise basally from the leaf rosette, and the
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
at the tip of the stem bears 1 to 12 flowers each with five pink or white petals up to long.
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Montia parvifolia''Montia parvifolia'' - Photo gallery Flora North America Treatment
parvifolia
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Flora of California
Flora of the Western United States
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Caryophyllales-stub