Arenaria leptoclados (Rchb.) Guss.

Posted byTrajche DimitrovskiPosted inCaryophyllaceae

Taxonomy: Fam. Caryophyllaceae// Genus: Arenaria// Species: Arenaria leptoclados (Rchb.) Guss.

Variability: The Osogovo specimens correspond to Arenaria leptoclados var. viscidula Williams.

Determined according to the botanical key provided in Chater and Halliday (1964 in Tutin et al.) and Micevski (1993).

Note: Differs from the similar Arenaria serpyllifolia L. in the shape and hardness of the capsule and the seed dimensions.

Distribution: Native to Macaronesia, Europe to Siberia and Pakistan, North Africa to Arabian Peninsula and Tanzania according to the the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).

Habitat: Found in open habitats – grassland, rocks, rocky terrains with shallow soil, sparse bushland, alongside roads.

Flowering period: Spring – early summer (APR, MAY, JUN).

Locality: Hills near Kochani. Date: 25.04.2021.

Arenaria leptoclados – habit at beginning of flowering. Hills near Kochani, 25.04.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit at fruiting stage. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit at fruiting stage. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – inflorescence at beginning of flowering. Hills near Kochani, 25.04.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – upper part of plant with a fully developed inflorescence with flower buds and capsules. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – inflorescence with flowers and capsules. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – inflorescence with flowers and capsules. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – inflorescence. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – inflorescence with fruits (capsules). Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – inflorescence with flower buds and fruits (capsules). Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – stem with cauline leaves. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – stem with cauline leaves. Hills near Kochani, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – stem with cauline leaves. Hills between the Gorge of “Kochanska” River and the Kochani landfill, 20.06.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – stem with cauline leaves. Hills between the Gorge of “Kochanska” River and the Kochani landfill, 25.04.2021. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Specimen from the hilly region near Kochani, 25.04.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Specimen from the hilly region near Kochani, 25.04.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Specimen from the hilly region near Kochani, 25.04.2021. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

Locality: hills between Kochani and Orizari. Date: 01.05.2026.

Arenaria leptoclados -habit. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados -habit. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados -habit. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados -inflorescene. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados -inflorescene. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados -inflorescene. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – stem with leaves. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – stem with leaves. Hills between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.

Scaled images. Locality, hills between Kochani and Orizari. Date: 01.05.2026.

Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Scale in cm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Scale in cm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Scale in cm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Scale in cm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Scale in cm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Scale in cm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – habit. Scale in cm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – inflorescence. Scale in mm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – calyx and capsules. Scale in mm. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.
Arenaria leptoclados – seeds. Specimen from the hilly region between Kochani and Orizari, 01.05.2026. Photo By Trajche Dimitrovski.

References:

Arenaria leptoclados (Rchb.) Guss. Marhold, K. (2011): Caryophyllaceae. – In: Euro+Med Plantbase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published on the Internet: http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameCache=Arenaria%20leptoclados&PTRefFk=7200000 [Accessed 30.06.2021].

Arenaria leptoclados. Marhold, K. 2011+: Caryophyllaceae. – In: Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published at https://europlusmed.org/. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/faa0ecf2-39f4-4a0e-957a-d0c0a5ab53fd [Accessed 17.08.2026].

Arenaria leptoclados (Rchb.) Guss. Plants of the World Online portal, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:151355-1 [Accessed 18.08.2026].

Chater, A. O. and Halliday, G. 1964. Arenaria L. In Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M., & Webb, D. A. (eds.), Flora Europaea. Volume 1. Lycopodiaceae to Platanaceae. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 116–123.

Micevski, K. 1993. Arenaria L., The Flora of the Republic of Macedonia. Vol. 1, Book 2. Skopje: Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, pp. 219–224.

Last update: 18.08.2026.