Arenaria ciliata is a perennial herb of the family Caryophyllaceae

Caryophyllaceae

The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...

. A. ciliata is a calcicole

Calcicole

A calcicole or calciphyte is a plant that does not tolerate acidic soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to dwell on chalk'. Under acidic conditions, aluminium becomes more soluble and phosphate-less. As a consequence, calcicoles grown on acidic soils often develop the symptoms of aluminium...

 occurring in open grassland and on bare rock in mountainous areas.

Distribution

It is European with an outlying population in Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

. This species is not known from Britain. It was discovered in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in 1806 growing on Ben Bulben

Ben Bulben

Ben Bulben, sometimes spelt Benbulben or Benbulbin , is a large rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, an area sometimes called "Yeats Country".Ben Bulben is listed as a protected structure....

Co. Sligo. This remains the only known Irish population.