Stellaria neglecta

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Stellaria neglecta
Stellaria neglecta eF.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Stellaria
Species:
S. neglecta
Binomial name
Stellaria neglecta

Stellaria neglecta, greater chickweed, is an annual to short-lived herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in hedges and woodland margins on neutral to slightly acid, damp soils, and is widespread but rarely abundant. It has been introduced to North America, where it has been spreading in recent decades.

Contents

Description

A sprawling annual (to short-lived perennial) with weak branching stems that are usually decumbent at the base, ascending distally to around 80–90 cm, often supported by other plants. The stems are cylindrical and glabrous except for a single line of hairs that runs lengthways, changing sides at each node. Other parts of the plant are usually entirely glabrous. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, the lower ones having long (2-5 cm), narrowly-winged stalks and a broadly oval-triangular blade about 3 cm long by 1.5 cm wide. The upper leaves are sessile or only very shortly petiolate, and slightly larger are more oval. The leaves have one strong central vein along the midrib and about 5 lateral veins on each side. [1] [2] [3]

The upper leaves are sessile and somewhat rectangular in outline Stellaria neglecta upper leaves.jpg
The upper leaves are sessile and somewhat rectangular in outline

The flowers are borne singly in the uppermost leaf axils on slender 2-3 cm stalks, initially spreading and reflexed, later erect. Each flower has five sepals, 5−6.5 mm long, lanceolate, glabrous or rarely pubescent, with an acute apex. There are also five white petals which are divided almost to the base, giving the impression that there are ten. The petals are usually just slightly shorter than the sepals, the whole flower being about 10 mm in diameter. There are 8-10 reddish stamens and three styles. [4] [1] [3] [5]

The flowers have ten stamens although sometimes only the filaments remain Stellaria neglecta W.jpg
The flowers have ten stamens although sometimes only the filaments remain

It flowers between April and July in Northern Europe. [1] The stems can remain alive and produce tillers which overwinter and flower the following year. [4] Seeds are tuberculate, dark reddish-brown, 1.3−1.7 mm in diameter. [1] The tubercles are conical, with an acute apex. [3]

Taxonomy

This species was first published by Alexandre Louis Simon Lejeune in 1825 as Alsine neglecta, which is therefore the basionym. It was then (the same year) moved to the genus StellariaL. by Carl Ernst August Weihe and this name is accepted to this day. [6] Over the years many synonyms have been coined, such as Alsine decandraSchur (in 1866), Stellaria media var. decandraFenzl (in 1842) and Stellaria decandraSchur ex Prodan (in 1953). A full list is given by the Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World. [7]

Numerous subspecies, varieties and forms have been named, but none is currently accepted [7] and it is not known to hybridise with any other species. [8]

Its chromosome number is 2n = 22. [5]

The scientific name Stellaria means "like a star" in reference to the flowers, and neglecta is in acknowledgement that it was long overlooked, [9] something that is still true to this day. [10]

Identification

Three species of chickweed have a single line of hairs down the stem. There are various features which can be used to separate them: Stellaria apetala usually has 1-3 stamens and no white petals; S. media has 3-8 stamens and white petals up to 3 mm long; whereas S. neglecta usually has 10 stamens and petals up to 4 mm. As the anthers often fall off, it is best to count the filaments. [5] [11]

In the absence of flowers, the size of the plants (up to 10 cm; 25 cm; 100 cm) is a useful character, as are the leaves (up to 7 mm; 25 mm; 50 mm respectively), which also look rather different on the various species. [2]

Leaves of three species of chickweed.jpg
A leaf of Stellaria apetala (left), S. media (middle) and S. neglecta (right). Not to scale.

Distribution and status

Greater chickweed is widely distributed throughout Europe and southern Asia as far east as Japan. [7] [12] In Great Britain, it is most common in the south and west. [13] In North America, it was formerly rare, but it has spread rapidly in recent decades and is now considered a weed in a number of states, from Maryland to California. [3]

The international status of greater chickweed has not been evaluated, [14] but in Britain it is classified as "Least Concern" on the grounds that it is still widespread, albeit declining. [15] [10] In France it is similarly not threatened except in the Alsace region, where it is considered to be vulnerable. [16]

Habitat and ecology

Greater chickweed grows in lightly shaded situations on slightly damp, base-rich and moderately fertile soils. Its Ellenberg values in Britain are L = 6, F = 7, R = 6, N = 7, and S = 0. [17] It is often found in old hedges and on the margins and paths of ancient deciduous woodland, where it is generally sparsely distributed and tends to occur in small patches. [18] [19]

In terms of the British National Vegetation Classification it is recorded in MG1 false oatgrass swards on woodland edges, W6 crack willow woodland by rivers, in W10 oak woodland and W24 bramble scrub in hedges. [19] Because it is quite scarce and declining, and largely restricted to old hedges and woods, it is considered an axiophyte in some counties. [20] [19]

It is a lowland plant, reaching its altitudinal limit of 345 m in Britain on Stapeley Hill in Shropshire. [21]

Presumably because it is such a little-known plant, there are no recorded instances of insect associations with this species in Britain. [22] There are also no known galls, rusts or smuts. [23]

Related Research Articles

<i>Stellaria</i> Genus of flowering plants in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae

Stellaria is a genus of about 190 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Common names include starwort, stitchwort and chickweed.

<i>Adoxa moschatellina</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae

Adoxa moschatellina, moschatel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae which has a highly distinctive inflorescence. This herbaceous perennial grows in relatively sunny places in old woodland, such as the edges of streams, and in shady places in open habitats such as rock crevices in limestone pavements. It has a limited ability to spread by seed, but expands vegetatively via its long stolons. It is a widespread but generally uncommon plant which is not considered to be threatened within its natural range.

<i>Smyrnium olusatrum</i> Species of flowering plant

Smyrnium olusatrum, common name alexanders is an edible flowering plant of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), which grows on waste ground and in hedges around the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastal regions of Europe. It was formerly widely grown as a pot herb, but is now appreciated mostly by foragers.

<i>Lysimachia europaea</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae

Lysimachia europaea is a flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae, called by the common name chickweed-wintergreen or arctic starflower. It is a small herbaceous perennial plant with one or more whorls of leaves on a single slender erect stem. It is about one third of a foot high (10 cm). The broad lanceolate leaves are pale green but take on a copper hue in late summer. The solitary white flowers are reminiscent of small wood anemones and appear in midsummer. The fruits are globular dry capsules but are seldom produced.

<i>Stellaria media</i> Species of flowering plant (chickweed)

Stellaria media, chickweed, is an annual flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout the world, where it is a weed of waste ground, farmland and gardens. It is sometimes grown as a salad crop or for poultry consumption.

<i>Rabelera</i> Species of plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae

Rabelera holostea, known as greater stitchwort, greater starwort, and addersmeat, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It was formerly placed in the genus Stellaria, as Stellaria holostea, but was transferred to the genus Rabelera in 2019 based on phylogenetic analyses. It is the only species in the genus Rabelera. Greater stitchwort is native to Western and Central Europe, including the British Isles.

<i>Stellaria pubera</i> Species of flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae

Stellaria pubera, commonly called the star chickweed, is a spring-flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae, native to the eastern United States.

<i>Draba verna</i> Species of flowering plant

Draba verna, common whitlowgrass, is a species of plant in the cabbage family. It is a small spring-flowering annual which is widely dispersed around the world, and which is found on walls, pavements and patches of bare ground. It has a complex taxonomy which is not yet fully elucidated.

<i>Veronica hederifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Veronica hederifolia, the ivy-leaved speedwell, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and north Africa and it is present in other places as an introduced species and a common weed. Solitary blue flowers occur in leaf axils, each with a corolla up to one centimetre (0.4 in) wide. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule.

<i>Vicia sepium</i> Species of legume

Vicia sepium or bush vetch is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. A nitrogen-fixing, perennial, leguminous climbing plant that grows in hedgerows, grasslands, the edges of woodland, roadsides and rough ground. It occurs in western Europe, Crimea of Ukraine, Russia including Siberia, Caucasus and Central Asia. It can also be found in eastern Canada, north-eastern states of the USA and, where suitable habitat occurs, in Greenland. It is native to, and has been recorded in, almost all parts of Britain, Ireland and associated islands.

<i>Cerastium fontanum</i> Species of flowering plant in the pink family Caryophyllaceae

Cerastium fontanum, also called mouse-ear chickweed, common mouse-ear, or starweed, is a species of mat-forming perennial or, rarely, annual plant. It is native to Europe but introduced elsewhere. Its identifying characteristics are tear-shaped leaves growing opposite one another in a star pattern, hairy leaves, and small white flowers. Mouse-ear chickweed typically grows to 4"-8" tall and spreads horizontally along the ground via the formation of roots wherever the stem falls over and contacts the ground.

<i>Mercurialis annua</i> Species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiacea

Mercurialis annua, annual mercury, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It is native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, where it occurs on bare, sandy soils in semi-arid regions. Its seeds are dispersed by harvester ants, which remove an oily coating that delays germination. In recent centuries, annual mercury has spread to northern Europe and many other parts of the world as an agricultural and urban weed. It has been studied for its complex genetics and breeding system. It is named after the Roman god Mercury, due to its association with fertility.

<i>Stellaria apetala</i> Species of flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae

Stellaria apetala, lesser chickweed, is an annual herbaceous plant in the flowering plant family Caryophyllaceae. It occurs in short, sandy grassland by the sea and, less often, in similar habitat inland. It is native to Europe and is well established as an introduced species worldwide.

<i>Praecoxanthus</i> Genus of orchids

Praecoxanthus aphyllus, commonly known as leafless orchid, is the only species of the flowering plant genus Praecoxanthus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Plants in flower lack a true leaf, although those plants that are not flowering do possess a green leaf. This species is one of the first orchids to flower each year and its creamy white, fragrant flower easily distinguishes it from other species.

<i>Oenanthe crocata</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenanthe crocata, hemlock water-dropwort is a flowering plant in the carrot family, native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It grows in damp grassland and wet woodland, often along river and stream banks. All parts of the plant are extremely toxic and it has been known to cause human and livestock poisoning.

Calectasia obtusa, commonly known as a blue tinsel lily or blunt-leaved tinsel lily is a plant in the family Dasypogonaceae growing as an erect, small shrub with stems to 50 cm. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia, widespread in most of its range but only known from nine populations.

<i>Oenanthe aquatica</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenanthe aquatica, fine-leaved water-dropwort, is an aquatic flowering plant in the carrot family. It is widely distributed from the Atlantic coast of Europe to central Asia.

<i>Stellaria alsine</i> Species of flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae

Stellaria alsine, the bog stitchwort, is a species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It grows in bogs and marshes in Europe and parts of North America.

<i>Symphyotrichum racemosum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the US

Symphyotrichum racemosum is a species of flowering plant native to parts of the United States and introduced in Canada. It is known as smooth white oldfield aster and small white aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a late-summer and fall blooming flower.

Stellaria corei, with the common names of Tennessee chickweed, star chickweed, Tennessee starwort, and Tennessee stitchwort, is a species of flowering plant native to parts of Eastern USA.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Clapham, Arthur Roy; Tutin, Thomas Gaskell; Warburg, E F (1962). Flora of the British Isles (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0-521-26962-8.
  2. 1 2 Poland, John; Clement, Eric (2009). The Vegetative Key to the British Flora. Southampton: John Poland. ISBN   978-0-9560144-0-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Flora of North America: north of Mexico. Oxford University Press. p. 110.
  4. 1 2 Whitehead, F. H.; R. P. Sinha (October 1967). "Taxonomy and Taximetrics of Stellaria media (L.) Vill., S. neglecta Weihe and S. pallida (Dumort.) Pire". New Phytologist. Blackwell Publishing. 66 (4): 769–784. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1967.tb05444.x. JSTOR   2430464.
  5. 1 2 3 Stace, C.A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles. Suffolk. ISBN   978-1-5272-2630-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ Plants of the World Online. "Stellaria neglecta (Lej.) Weihe" . Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Global Biodiversity Information Facility. "Stellaria neglecta (Lej.) Weihe" . Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Stace, C.A.; Preston, C.D.; Pearman, D.A. (2015). Hybrid Flora of the British Isles. Bristol: Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. ISBN   978-0-901158-48-2.
  9. ↑ Stearn, William T. (1980). Botanical Latin: History, Grammar, Syntax, Terminology and Vocabulary. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   0-7153-5645-3.
  10. 1 2 Preston, C.D.; Pearman, D.A.; Dines, T.D. (2002). New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  11. ↑ Rose, Francis (2006). The Wild Flower Key. London: Frederick Warne. ISBN   978-0-7232-5175-0.
  12. ↑ "Stellaria neglecta Weihe" . Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  13. ↑ "Grid map of records on the Gateway for Stellaria neglecta (Greater Chickweed)". National Biodiversity Network. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  14. ↑ European Nature Information System. "Stellaria neglecta Weihe" . Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  15. ↑ Cheffings, C.M.; Farrell, L. (2005). The Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
  16. ↑ Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel. "Stellaria neglecta Weihe, 1825" . Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  17. ↑ Hill, M.O.; Mountford, J.O.; Roy, D.B.; Bunce, R.G.H. (1999). Ellenberg's indicator values for British plants. ECOFACT Volume 2. Technical Annex (PDF). Institute of Terrestrial Ecology. ISBN   1870393481 . Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  18. ↑ Crawley, M.J. (2005). The Flora of Berkshire. Harpenden: Brambleby Books. ISBN   0-9543347-4-4.
  19. 1 2 3 Lockton, Alex; Whild, Sarah (2015). The Flora and Vegetation of Shropshire. Montford Bridge: Shropshire Botanical Society.
  20. ↑ Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. "Kent" . Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  21. ↑ Plant Atlas 2020. "Greater Chickweed, Stellaria neglecta Weihe" . Retrieved 13 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ Biological Records Centre. "Insects and their food plants" . Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  23. ↑ Redfern, Margaret; Shirley, Peter (2002). "British Plant Galls". Field Studies. 10: 207–531.
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