Mt. Dellenbaugh Sandwort

Eremogone aberrans is known only from northern Arizona and resembles a robust form of the more northerly occurring E. aculeata. In Arizona it is often confused with E. fendleri, which has sepals more or less glandular-pubescent whereas E. aberrans has sepals glabrous or with a few glandular hairs at their bases.

Plants tufted to mat forming, green, not glaucous, with woody base. Stems erect, (3-)10-23 cm, moderately to densely stipitate-glandular. Leaves: basal leaves abundant, persistent; cauline leaves in 5-7 pairs, reduced distally; basal blades spreading to arcuate-spreading, needlelike, 0.8-2 cm × 0.4-0.8 mm, ± rigid, not fleshy, herbaceous, apex spinose, glabrous, not glaucous. Inflorescences: (1-)3-6-flowered, open cymes. Pedicels 6-25 mm, stipitate-glandular. Flowers: sepals 1-3-veined, lateral veins less developed, narrowly elliptic to ovate, 3.5-4 mm, 4.8-5.2 mm in fruit, margins usually broadly winged, scarious, apex broadly acute to obtuse (at least in fruit), glabrous or nearly so; petals yellowish white, spatulate, 5.8-10 mm, 1.3-1.5 times as long as sepals, apex rounded; nectaries as lateral and abaxial rounding of base of filaments opposite sepals, 0.2-0.3 mm. Capsules 7-10 mm, glabrous. Seeds brownish black, suborbicular with hilar notch, 2-2.4 mm, tuberculate; tubercles rounded, elongate.

Ariz.

Flowering late spring-summer.

Oak and yellow pine forests; 1500-2800m.

Arenaria aberrans M. E. Jones, Contr. W. Bot. 16: 37. 1930