I would like to identify a rock garden plant whose identity I've never been sure of. The first photo shows the plant in early spring, at the center rear of the photo. The plant forms a slightly mounded mat, about 15 cm across (after many years in a trough) and about 5 cm high. The leaves are narrow and linear, to about 5mm across and 5 cm long. It blooms heavily in early summer (June; second photo) on stems up to about 15 cm long; there are a small number of stem leaves which are alternate, and the flowers are in sparse clusters (1-5?). The seedpods (unfortunately, I can't find the photo) are brown, elongated (~1 cm), and sparsely hairy. I believe I bought it labelled as Saponaria lutea, which it doesn't seem to be. After much looking around, I think it may well be a Saponaria, though.... perhaps S. suendermannii? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Lori Skulski
Dianthus subacaulis was one of the possibilities I explored. Several references say that it has solitary flowers, although some of the photos I found, said to be it, show evidence of 2 flowers per stalk... so I wonder how diagnostic is "solitary flowers" for D. subacaulis? On my plant, clusters of flowers (up to perhaps 5?) are the norm. Also, the stems and calyces are hairy, which seems un-dianthus-like to me (but please correct me if I'm wrong). Are there some basic characteristics that would distinguish dianthus from saponaria?
According to this key to the Caryohpyllaceae, Dianthus flowers are subtended by 2-6 bracts, while Saponaria have 0. I'm not certain whether these characteristics are accurate for all of the species within the genera, or only those found within the area described by the key (California).
Thank you, Daniel. I'll try to determine if my photos are clear enough to resolve this (taking into account the proviso you've added). If not, I'll make a note to check next time the plant blooms.
