Stellaria littoralis

Stellaria littoralis is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name beach starwort.[1] It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area and North Coast of California, where it grows in moist coast habitat, such as marshes, bogs, and coastal bluffs. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing sprawling, branching stems which are four-angled and hairy in texture, reaching up to about 60 centimeters long. The lance-shaped or pointed oval leaves are up to 4.5 centimeters long and are oppositely arranged in pairs. The inflorescence bears several flowers, each on a short pedicel. The flower has five hairy, pointed green sepals each a few millimeters long. There are five white petals, each so deeply lobed it appears to be two.

Stellaria littoralis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Stellaria
Species:
S. littoralis
Binomial name
Stellaria littoralis

This plant is similar to its Asian relative Stellaria dichotoma, and it may actually be a population of that species that was introduced to the California coast long ago.[2]

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


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