Alaska.

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: This species is known from high mountain slopes of the Aleutian, Pribilof, and Semidi Islands. It is also reported (but not confirmed) from Kodiak Island.

Plants perennial, tufted, rhizoma-tous, eglandular. Stems branched, 3-7 cm, subglabrous proximally, softly pubescent distally, proximal internodes congested; small axillary tufts of leaves absent. Leaves proximal leaves marcescent, pseudopetiolate, spatulate, distal sessile; blade elliptic to lanceolate or oblanceolate, 4-12 × 2-5 mm, apex ± obtuse, hirsute with long, straight, eglandular hairs or subglabrous except for midrib and margins. Inflorescences 1-3-flowered, dense cymes; bracts foliaceous, margins not scarious, pubescent. Pedicels becoming curved at apex, slender, 2-12 mm, to 3 times as long as sepals, pubescence spreading, eglandular, fuscous hairs equaling or longer than pedicel diam. Flowers: sepals lanceolate to elliptic, concave, 4-5 mm, margins narrow, apex acute to obtuse, pubescent; petals 1-1.5 times as long as sepals, apex 2-fid; stamens 10; styles 5. Capsules cylindric, slightly curved, 8-11 mm, 1-2 times as long as sepals, teeth 10, ± erect, margins convolute. Seeds brown, 0.8-1 mm, shallowly and obtusely tuberculate; testa not inflated, tightly enclosing seed.

Cerastium beeringianum Chamisso & Schlechtendal var. aleuticum (Hultén) S. L. Welsh

Stony ground, screes, etc., mountain slopes; 200-700m.

Comments: High alpine fell-field and screes.

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 6 - 80

Comments: Known from at least sixteen sites in remote alpine areas. Additional sites should be expected as these areas are explored.

Flowering summer.

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N3 - Vulnerable

Rounded Global Status Rank: G3 - Vulnerable

Reasons: Known from sixteen sites in remote alpine areas. This small, easily overlooked species is likely to be found at additional sites as these areas are further explored.

Comments: The high alpine habitats in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands face no threats at present.

Cerastium aleuticum is an eglandular relative of C. beeringianum. It is similar to C. bialynickii except in being eglandular and having less dense pubescence and narrower sepals. It is confined to the western arctic, mainly on the Aleutian, St. Lawrence, St. Paul, Popof, and Kodiak islands, but is not found on mainland Alaska.

Comments: A distinct taxon, endemic to the Aleutian, Pribilof and Kodiak Islands. Recognized as a distinct species by most authors (including Kartesz, 1994 checklist), but treated as a variety of C. BEERINGIANUM by Welsh (1974).