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Moss Sandwort

Sabulina verna (sah-bu-LEE-nah VER-nah)

Family: Caryophyllaceae Non-native Groundcover

Moss Sandwort is a small, flowering perennial herb or subshrub in the Pink family with slender, needle-like leaves that resemble moss (hence the common name). It is a native or Eurasia and Northwest Africa and relatively rare. Small, five petaled, white flowers appear in spring on short, downy stems. Moss Sandwort does best in full sun to part shade. It is frost hardy and will tolerate metal-rich soils. It can be found around spoil heaps and old mine workings. It prefers open sites with reduced competition, but may suffer from drought in very exposed conditions. Moss Sandwort spreads by means of runners to form a dense mat or groundcover. It may also be appropriate for an alpine garden. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 34 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 5 - Groundcover
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ground Cover; Herbaceous Perennial; Shrub
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Creeping; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf arrangement
Whorled
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Narrow, needle-like and straight leaves, in whorls on slender stems.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Solitary
Flower shape
Radial
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Five petaled, small white flowers with ten purple anthers appear in spring on short, downy stems.
Bloom time
Spring
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Northern Europe, south to Turkey, the Mediterranean countries.
Landscape Use
Garden tags
#perennial #herb #subshrub #mat forming #groundcover #flowering #white flowers #alpine

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.