Stellaria corei explained

Stellaria corei, with the common names of Tennessee chickweed, star chickweed, Tennessee starwort, and Tennessee stitchwort,[1] is a species of flowering plant native to parts of Eastern USA.

Description

Stellaria corei is similar to Stellaria pubera, with which it can be confused.It is a spring flowering perennial growing from spreading rhizomes. The square stems are upright, branched, and range from 10cm-40cmcm (00inches-20inchescm) long. The Leaves near the base of the plant have stems but the leaves near the ends of the stems may be subsessile (lacking stems). The entire margined leaves are elliptic in shape, with broadly lanceolate to ovate ends, and 1cm-5cmcm (00inches-02inchescm) × 5mm16mm in size. The leaf bases are cuneate. The flowers are produced in 3 to 7 flowered Inflorescences that are terminal cymes. The white Flowers are 10mm16mm in diameter, with five narrowly triangular sepals. The ripe fruits are straw colored to pale brown capsules. The mature seeds are brown and around 2mm in diameter. The diploid chromosome count is 60.[2]

Habitat and range

Stellaria corei grows in rocky woods, on bluffs, and in open woods.[3] It is native to Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and has been introduced to Idaho and New York.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stellaria corei (Star Chickweed, Tennessee Chickweed, Tennessee Starwort, Tennessee Stitchwort) North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox . 2022-10-15 . plants.ces.ncsu.edu.
  2. Web site: Stellaria corei in Flora of North America @ efloras.org . 2022-10-15 . www.efloras.org.
  3. Book: Rhoads . Ann Fowler . The Vascular Flora of Pennsylvania: Annotated Checklist and Atlas . Klein . William M. . Klein . William MacKinley Jr. . 1993 . American Philosophical Society . 978-0-87169-207-8 . en.