Stellaria littoralis
Encyclopedia
Stellaria littoralis is a species of flowering plant in the pink family
known by the common name beach starwort. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area
and North Coast of California
, where it grows in moist coast habitat, such as marsh
es, bog
s, 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 a short pedicel
. The flower has five hairy, pointed green sepal
s each a few millimeters long. There are five white petals, each so deeply lobed it appears to be two.
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.
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...
known by the common name beach starwort. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and North Coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in moist coast habitat, such as marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s, and coastal bluffs. It is a rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
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
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
bears several flowers, each on a a short pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. The flower has five hairy, pointed green sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s each a few millimeters long. There are five white petals, each so deeply lobed it appears to be two.
This plant is similar to its Asian relative Stellaria dichotoma, and it may actually be a population of that species that was introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to the California coast long ago.