Honckenya peploides (L.) Ehrh. subsp. diffusa (Hornem.) Hultén
Beach Sandwort.
Caryophyllaceae, pink family.
Fl. Aleut. Isl. 173. 1937.
Arenaria peploides L. var. diffusa Hornem. Fors. oecon.
Plantel. ed. 3, 1. 501. 1821.
Honckenya peploides (L.) Ehrh. var.
diffusa (Hornem.) Kruuse
Minuartia peploides (L.) Hiern var.
diffusa (Hornem.) Mattf.
Honckenya diffusa (Hornem.) Á.
Löve
Arenaria diffusa (Hornem.) Wormsk.
Type: Described from Greenland.
Halianthus peploides var. major Rostr., non Arenaria
peploides var. major Hooker
Honckenya frigida Probed.
Arenaria diffusa (Hornem.) Wormsk.
Arenaria peploides (L.)
var. diffusa (Hornem.) Wormsk.
Honckenya diffusa (Hornem.)
Á. and D. Löve
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; 2–8 cm high; glabrous, fleshy, with much branched, freely rooting stems. Taproot present. Caudex absent. Ground-level or under-ground stems horizontal, or not developed horizontally or vertically; rhizomatous, or stoloniferous; elongate; 0.7–2 mm wide. Aerial stems decumbent; glabrous. Leaves distributed along the stems; opposite; marcescent. Petioles absent. Leaf blade bases cuneate. Blades 4–20(–30) mm long; 3–9(–13) mm wide. Blades spreading; succulent; elliptic, or ovate; flat; appearing single-veined. Blades adaxial surface shiny; scabrous. Blades abaxial surface glabrous. Blade margins glabrous. Leaf apices acute.
Reproductive morphology. Plants dioecious, or bisexual. Flowering stems with leaves; glabrous. Flowers solitary, or in inflorescences. Inflorescence a dichasium; terminal, or axillary. Flowers per inflorescence 1–3(–6); medium-sized, 5–15 mm in diameter or length. Calyx sepals 5 (rarely 6); free; 3.5–6 mm long. Calyx purple, or green and purple; herbaceous and scarious; glabrous. Petals free; same length as the calyx; 5 (rarely 6); white; obovate; unlobed; 3.5–6 mm long. Flowers unisexual, or bisexual. Stamens 10 (each with a large nectary at base); filaments glabrous. Anthers yellow; ellipsoid; 0.5–0.7 mm long. Gynoecia superior. Carpels syncarpous; 3(–5). Ovaries ovate, or subglobose; glabrous. Styles 3 (or 5); free; 1.8–2.2 mm long. Stigmas per style 1. Placentation free central. Ovules 15–30. Fruit with calyx persisting; dry; a capsule; spherical, or ovoid (broadly); dehiscent; opening with teeth at the top of the capsule; teeth 3 (valves). Fruit 5–8(–10) mm long; 5–8 mm wide; yellowish; surface appearing veinless. Seeds numerous; 3–4.5 mm long; brown; with surfaces verrucose.
Chromosome information. 2n = 66, 68, 70. C.40. - Löve
(1950).
66-68-70 (4x). - Flovik (1940 Svalbard, 2n =
66); Löve (1950 Iceland, 2n = 66, 1970a, 2n = 68); Löve
and Löve (1956 Iceland, 2n = c.70, 1982 arctic Canada, 2n =
68); Malling (1957 2n = 68); Sokolovskaya and Strelkova (1960 northern
Russia, 2n = 68–70); Zhukova (1965a eastern Chukotka, 1966 north
eastern Asia, 2n = 68); Johnson and Packer (1968 northwestern Alaska,
2n = 68, as 'peploides' s.lat. but in the area of
'diffusa'); Zhukova in Yurtsev and Zhukova (1972, 2n = 70);
Zhukova et al. (1973 Chukotka, 2n = 66); Packer and McPherson
(1974 northern Alaska, 2n = 68); Murray and Kelso (1997 western Alaska,
2n = 68).
Aneuploidy apparently exists in the species, but it seems
to be weakly correlated with the morphological variation since the different
numbers do not coincide with the division into subspecies (A. Kurtto in Jonsell
2001). Ploidy levels recorded 4x.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: circumpolar (mainly in arctic and northern boreal zones); Greenland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Canada, United States, Eurasia. Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories Islands, Continental Northwest Territories, Nunavut Islands, Continental Nunavut, Northern Québec. Coastal. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago limited. Common. Arctic Islands: Baffin, Banks, Victoria, Prince of Wales, Southampton, Coats (Salisbury, Akpatok and Prince Charles Islands).
Ecology and habitat. Substrates: seashores (beaches), lake shores; imperfectly drained moist areas, or on seepage slopes; halophytic; gravel, sand; with low organic content.
Indigenous knowledge. Inuit name maliksuagait, also known as
"beach greens". Ootoova et al. (2001), in a study based in the Eastern
Arctic, reported this plant to have excellent medicinal properties indicating
that the succulent leaves and stems can be boiled and eaten with seal oil. Burt
(2000) who wrote from her experiences in the Central Arctic around Bathurst
Inlet reported that there is no indication that the Inuit people in that area
have ever used the plant as food.
Porsild (1953) climed that the succulent
young stems and leaves may be pickled as "sauerkraut" or eaten as a potherb.
Economic uses. Johnson (1987) reported that this plant is edible, raw or cooked, and that it has been used as fodder for pigs and sheep.
Notes. Honckenya peploides is very variable in vegetative
characters which are easily modified by local conditions and to some degree
clinal from south to north. However, three or more morphological variants are
usually recognized based on vegetative as well as seed characters: subsp.
peploides which is a non-arctic entity found on the coasts of Europe from
Northern (non-arctic) Norway south to Portugal, subsp. diffusa which is
circumpolar mainly in arctic and northern boreal zones, and subsp. major
(Hooker) Hultén from the North Pacific area (reaching arctic West
Alaska).
The species is andro-gyno-dioic, displaying females, males, and
hermaphrodites. The female flower has very small stamens and petals, while the
hermaphrodites and males have larger petals and lager stamens. Female plants
produce more seeds than hermaphrodites. In Norden (area treated by Flora
Nordica), this species is almost completely dioecious and bisexual flowers are
very rare (Kurtto in Jonsell 2001). The species is efficiently spread by runners
and often forming extensive clones. The seeds are spread by sea currents.
Illustrations. • Plant habitat. Plants growing in well defined patches in sand and fine gravel. Manitoba, Churchill, Beech Bay, in the tidal estuary of the Churchill River, south of the Port, 58°44'N, 94°10'W. Aiken and Brysting 01–018. CAN. • Close-up of plant. Flowering plant growing in sand and fine gravel. Manitoba, Churchill, Beech Bay, in the tidal estuary of the Churchill River, south of the Port, 58°44'N, 94°10'W. Aiken and Brysting 01–018. CAN. • Close-up of plant. Plant in fruit, growing in sand and fine gravel. Manitoba, Churchill, Beech Bay, in the tidal estuary of the Churchill River, south of the Port, 58°44'N, 94°10'W. Aiken and Brysting 01–018. CAN. • Close-up of plant. Plants growing on beach sand. N.W.T., Banks Island, 6 mile W of Sachs Harbour, 25 July 1981, J.M.Gillett 18818. • Close-up of flowers. Petals same length as the calyx, obovate, unlobed; 10 stamens and 3 styles; leaves succulent and glabrous. Manitoba, Churchill, Beech Bay, in the tidal estuary of the Churchill River, south of the Port, 58°44'N, 94°10'W. Aiken and Brysting 01–018. CAN. • Close-up of fruit. Capsule spherical or ovoid, opening with three teeth at the top of the capsule. Manitoba, Churchill, Beech Bay, in the tidal estuary of the Churchill River, south of the Port, 58°44'N, 94°10'W. Aiken and Brysting 01–018. CAN. • Drawing of plant. Drawing by Mrs S. Bergh and Mrs L. Barstad based on a collection from Svalbard, Hotellneset. 26 Jul. 1925. A. Heinz (det. ssp. diffusa R. Elven 1996) (This is the race occurring throughout Arctic Canada). O 200156. With permission of the Botanical Museum, University of Oslo, Norway. • Distribution map.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
