Sabulina patula, common names pitcher's stitchwort or lime-barren sandwort, is an annual plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to sections of the eastern and central United States, primarily the lower Mississippi Valley, the southern Great Plains, and the Tennessee Valley, with additional scattered populations in Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the southern Great Lakes region.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Sabulina patula is found on limestone outcrops and in rocky barrens and glades. It is a small, delicate annual species with thin red stems up to long, erect (upright) or ascending (trailing along the ground at first, then curving upwards). It very often has numerous stems crossing each other so as to form a clump of many stems. Leaves are in pairs, narrow and rarely more than long. Flowers are white, forming in the spring then quickly wilting.Minuartia patula in Flora of North AmericaOhio Division of Natural Areas
Sabulina patula is highly variable throughout its range, and multiple varieties have been named, though none of these is widely accepted today.The Plant List, Minuartia patula (Michx.) Mattf.
References
External links Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1989