Arenaria serpyllifolia Thyme-leaved Sandwort

A small, hairy annual with rather stiff, upright or sprawling stems that bear small thyme-like leaves in opposite pairs. The small flowers have white petals that are shorter than the sepals. It is a plant of dry sandy or gravelly soils such as sand dunes and the finely gravelled edges of forest roads. It is widespead in Glamorgan but it can be confused with the very similar Slender Sandwort (Arenaria leptoclados). It differs from that species in its larger sepals and its flask-shaped fruit capsules. There are two subspecies of Arenaria sepyllifolia, ssp. serpyllifolia and ssp. lloydii. The exact status of these in West Glamorgan is unknown but subspecies serpyllifolia is probably the more common.

Native