Charleston sandwort

Arenaria congesta Nuttall var. charlestonensis Maguire, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 73: 326. 1946

Stems 5-14 cm, glabrous. Leaves: basal blades straight to spreading, often arcuately so, needlelike, 0.7-2 cm × 0.5-0.8 mm, herbaceous. Inflorescences capitate, often rounded, open cymes; bracts often not closely enveloping sepals. Pedicels (1-)2-4 mm, glabrous. Sepals weakly to conspicuously 1-3-veined, 4.5-5.5 mm, apex spinose.

Flowering summer. Sandy ridges; 2200-3100 m; Calif., Nev.

Variety charlestonensis is known from the New York Mountains, Inyo County, California, and adjacent Nevada. It may be more closely allied to Eremogone kingii than to E. congesta.