Eremogone congesta

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Caryophyllaceae
Tribus: Eremogoneae
Genus: Eremogone
Species: Eremogone congesta
Varietates: E. c. var. cephaloidea – E. c. var. charlestonensis – E. c. var. crassula – E. c. var. lithophila – E. c. var. prolifera – E. c. var. simulans – E. c. var. subcongesta – E. c. var. suffrutescens
Name

Eremogone congesta (Nutt.) Ikonn.
Synonyms

Arenaria congesta Nutt., Fl. N. Amer. 1: 178 (1838).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Regional: Southwestern USA
USA (California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Ikonnikov, S.S. 1973. Novosti Sistematiki Vysshikh Rastenii. Moscow & Leningrad [St. Petersburg] 10: 139.

Links

Hassler, M. 2019. Eremogone congesta. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Sep 21. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Eremogone congesta in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Sep 21. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Eremogone congesta. Published online. Accessed: Sep 21 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Eremogone congesta. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 21 Sep 2019.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Eremogone congesta in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
English: Ballhead Sandwort

Eremogone congesta is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name ballhead sandwort. It is native to western North America from central Canada to the American southwest.
Description

This is a perennial herb forming a tuft of slender upright stems up to about 40 centimeters tall. The leaves are needlelike to thready, up to 8 centimeters long and only a few millimeters wide. They may be fleshy or flat and they often have a very sharp tip. Most of the leaves are located in a patch at the base of the plant, and there are a few scattered along the mostly naked stem.

The inflorescence is an open or rounded cyme of five-petalled white flowers. The fruit is a toothed capsule containing several reddish seeds.
Uses
The plant was used for a variety of medicinal purposes by Native American groups, including the Shoshone.