Plants erect, 1-4 dm. Inflor-escence branches: internodes glandular. Flowers 2.5-3.5 mm; perianth glabrous.

Flowering Jun-Sep. Sandy granitic flats and slopes, mixed grassland and sagebrush commu-nities, oak and montane conifer woodlands; 1200-3000 m; Calif.

Variety spergulinum has a much more restricted range than var. reddingianum, being confined to the western side of the central Sierra Nevada in Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties. Nonetheless, the taxon can be locally abundant to even weedy. A sharp distinction between this variety and var. reddingianum is not always possible at the northern end of the latter's range. A collection from Bahia de la Angeles, Baja California, Mexico (Palmer 196, NY) is certainly mislabeled.