Stellaria nitens

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Stellaria nitens
Stellarianitens.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Stellaria
Species:
S. nitens
Binomial name
Stellaria nitens
Synonyms

Stellaria praecox

Stellaria nitens is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names shiny chickweed [1] and shining starwort. It is native to western North America, including British Columbia, Alberta, and the western United States, its distribution extending into Mexico at least as far as Baja California. It grows in many types of habitat, in dry and moist areas, and sometimes in disturbed places. It is an annual herb producing a slender, upright, four-angled stem from a thin taproot, reaching up to about 25 centimeters in height. Most of the leaves are located low on the stem, each measuring up to 1.5 centimeters long, with smaller, narrower leaves occurring above. The leaves are hairless except for some rough hairs along the margins, and the blades have shiny surfaces. The inflorescence bears a few flowers on short pedicels. The flower has five pointed sepals each a few millimeters long. There are sometimes five tiny white petals as well, though these are often absent.

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Stellaria umbellata is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names umbrella starwort and umbellate starwort. It is native to western North America from Alaska and northwestern Canada to the southwestern United States, as well as parts of Asia, including Siberia. It grows in subalpine and alpine climates in mountain forests and riverbanks. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a slender prostrate stem up to about 20 centimeters long, sometimes forming clumps or mats. The stem is lined with pairs of oval leaves each up to about 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence is an umbel-shaped array of several flowers each on an arching or erect pedicels. The flower has five pointed green sepals each no more than 3 millimeters long. There are occasionally tiny white petals within the calyx of sepals, but these are generally absent.

Stellaria porsildii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Porsild's starwort. It is native to Arizona, where it can be found in the Chiricahua Mountains, and New Mexico, where it is known from one mountain.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Stellaria nitens". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 1 December 2015.