Cruickshank Sanctuary: Pineland Scalypink

Another mystery plant identified with the assistance of Sally Ann Scalera! I emailed photos of the plant to her, and she forwarded them to the UF Herbarium. Four days later she forwarded me the response from the Herbarium: The Collections Manager, Kent Perkins, believes my plant is Pineland Scalypink, Stipulicida setacea in the Caryophyllaceae Family (Pink Family). I have since looked it up on the USF/ISB website and agree that that is my plant. I first found this plant in the Cruickshank Sanctuary, June 9, 2010. I have since found it throughout dry, sandy areas of Wickham Park.

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Pineland Scalypink (Stipulicida setacea, Caryophyllaceae)

Native

W.K. Taylor's The Guide to Florida Wildflowers calls it Wire Plant. It's a small, nondescript plant with tiny white flowers, easily overlooked. It definitely has a wiry look about it. Taylor describes it as having minute, white, 5-petaled flowers in terminal clusters. The stem is smooth, wiry, branched. The upper stems are leafless, but bristly stipules occur at the stem joints.

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