It will be a while until the irises and lilies in our flower bed bloom. It is often the big and showy flowers that catch our attention. But right now amongst those irises and lilies is one of the smallest flowering plants native to North Dakota.
This plant is not well known. To botanists it is (Androsace occidentalis). Perhaps the most recognized common name is western rock jasmine, but it also has another common name that is much more interesting and appropriate, fairy candelabra.
Fairy candelabra is a member of the Primrose Family. This diminutive prairie plant is a winter annual that grows to around an inch tall, and under the best conditions maybe three inches. It is composed of a basal rosette of several small leaves, around an inch in diameter. Rising above this basal rosette is a candelabra-like inflorescence consisting of several tiny white flowers in an umbel (like the flower cluster of members of the carrot family), each less than an 1/8 of an inch across. It really does look like a candelabra for fairies, but I haven’t seen any of them around the flower bed.
Fairy candelabra may be found over much of western North America. It ranges from British Columbia to California then eastward to Texas and eastern Ontario. Like most other native annuals, fairy candelabra has a weedy habit, and as such may be found on a wide variety of disturbed habitats on the prairie such as around badger and fox dens, gopher mounds, and the like. It may also be observed in livestock pens, perennial flower beds, and other disturbed sites. It is actually quite common at times, but likely overlooked.
Fairy candelabra is just another plant trying to eke out an existence. It doesn’t get much press. If you have a wildflower book, it is likely not included. The same can be said for weed manuals. But this candelabra for the elfin world is worthy of our attention and admiration. So the next time you are weeding the flower bed or garden, or near some disturbed soil, take the time to check for this little gem.
~Chuck Lura
