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Spergularia rubra

Common name:	Sandwort	Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Author:	(L.)J.Presl.&C.Presl.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Buda rubra ((L.)Dum.), Arenaria rubra (L.), Arenaria campestris (Auct.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, south and east from Norway to N. Africa and Asia. N. America,
Habitat:	Open gravelly or sandy habitats[17]. Sand dunes, heaths and coastal cliffs[200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. marina[H] S. rubra var. perennans[B,P] Tissa rubra[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Arenaria Roja [E], Common Sandspurry [H], Kirmizi Remilotu [E], Red Sandspurry [P,L], Red Sandwort [E], Rode Schijnspurrie [D], Ruby Sandspurry [B], Sand Spurrey [L], U'Shba Hamra [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	rubra = red;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Pink family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe; Iraq; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Biennial growing to 0.25m. . It is in flower from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, Walls.

Edible Uses

Seed.

Seed - cooked. Dried and ground into a meal then used with flour for making bread etc[177]. A famine food, it is only used when all else fails[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Lithontripic.

The leaves are diuretic and lithontripic[4, 254]. The plant contains a resinous aromatic substance that is probably the active principle[4]. An infusion is thought to relax the muscle walls of the urinary tubules and so it is used in the treatment of kidney stones, acute and chronic cystitis and catarrh of the bladder[4, 61].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

This plant is often found growing in paving crevices and other impoverished niches in the garden[200]. It is a calcifuge plant, requiring neutral to acid soils[17].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ. Some seed germinates in the autumn in the wild while some germinates in the spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Arenaria rubra (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Caryophyllaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Spergularia+rubra
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Spergularia+rubra

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.