Stellaria media

(Linnaeus) Villars

Hist. Pl. Dauphiné 3: 615. 1789.

Common names: Common chickweed mouron des oiseaux
WeedyIntroduced
Basionym: Alsine media Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 1: 272. 1753
Synonyms: Stellaria apetala Ucria ex Roemer Stellaria media var. procera Klatt & Richter
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 5. Treatment on page 109. Mentioned on page 72, 97, 110, 111.

Plants annual or winter-annual, green, with slender taproot. Stems decumbent or ascending, diffusely branched, 4-sided, 5–40 cm, with single line of hairs along each internode. Leaves petiolate (proximal) or ± sessile (distal); blade usually green, ovate to broadly elliptic, 0.5–4 cm × 2–20 mm, base round to cuneate, margins entire, apex acute or shortly acuminate, ± glabrous or ciliate at base. Inflorescences terminal, 5–many-flowered cymes; bracts ovate and shortly acuminate to lanceolate-acute, 1–40 mm, herbaceous. Pedicels ascending, usually straight, deflexed at base in fruit, 3–40 mm, usually with line of hairs. Flowers 2–5 mm diam.; sepals 5, with obscure midrib, ovatelanceolate, 4.5–5 (–6) mm, margins narrow, scarious, apex obtuse, usually glandular-hairy; petals absent or 5, 1–4 mm, shorter than to equaling sepals; stamens 3–5 (–8); anthers red-violet; styles 3, outwardly curved, becoming curled, 0.5–1 mm. Capsules green to straw colored, ovoid-oblong, 3–5 mm, somewhat longer than sepals, apex obtuse, opening by 6 valves; carpophore absent. Seeds reddish-brown, broadly reniform to round, 0.9–1.3 mm diam., with obtuse, round, or flat-topped (broader than tall) tubercles. 2n = 40, 42, 44.


Phenology: Flowering year-round where climatic conditions permit.
Habitat: Cultivated ground, waste places, open woodlands
Elevation: 0-2500 m

Distribution

V5 227-distribution-map.gif

Introduced; Greenland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon, Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo., Europe

Discussion

Stellaria media, now a cosmopolitan weed, is a very polymorphic species, varying in size, habit, pubescence, petal length, stamen number, and seed size and surface detail.

The Stellaria media complex consists of three very similar and closely related species, S. media, S. neglecta, and S. pallida. They can almost always be distinguished by the characters given in the key, but in a few doubtful cases a chromosome count is desirable for positive identification. The problem arises from the considerable phenotypic variation which is displayed by S. media, and to a lesser extent by S. pallida. There is no evidence for gene exchange between these species. Stellaria pallida is autogamous and sometimes cleistogamous; S. media is both autogamous and occasionally cross-pollinated by flies; S. neglecta is usually cross-pollinated by flies but is self-compatible.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Stellaria media"
44 +, 42 +  and 40 +
perigynous +  and hypogynous +
glandular-hairy +, ciliate +  and glabrous +
obtuse;obtuse;acuminate;acute +
John K. Morton +
(Linnaeus) Villars +
round;cuneate +
Alsine media +
Laciniate (?) +, Emarginate (?) +, Jagged (?) +, 2-fid (?) +  and Entire (?) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
ovate +  and broadly elliptic +
not +  and succulent +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
shortly acuminate +  and lanceolate-acute +
reduced +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
green;straw colored +
somewhat longer +
ascending;recurved +
10 +, 8 +  and 4 +
ovoid-oblong +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
Common chickweed +  and mouron des oiseaux +
5-many-flowered +
dish--shaped +
expanded +
Greenland +, St. Pierre and Miquelon +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, N.B. +, Nfld. and Labr. +, N.W.T. +, N.S. +, Ont. +, P.E.I. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Yukon +, Ala. +, Alaska +, Ariz. +, Ark. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Conn. +, Del. +, D.C. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Idaho +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Iowa +, Kans. +, Ky. +, La. +, Maine +, Md. +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, Mont. +, Nebr. +, Nev. +, N.H. +, N.J. +, N.Mex. +, N.Y. +, N.C. +, N.Dak. +, Ohio +, Okla. +, Oreg. +, Pa. +, R.I. +, S.C. +, S.Dak. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Utah +, Vt. +, Va. +, Wash. +, W.Va. +, Wis. +, Wyo. +  and Europe +
0-2500 m +
straight +  and curved +
central +  and peripheral +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (?) +  and 0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (?) +
inconspicuous +
stalked +  and simple +
Cultivated ground, waste places, open woodlands +
sessile +  and petiolate +
connate +
swollen +
3 +  and 5 +
crassinucellate +  and bitegmic +
campylotropous +
deflexed;ascending +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
perigynous +  and hypogynous +
fugacious +
not clawed +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Flowering year-round where climatic conditions permit. +
Hist. Pl. Dauphiné +
turkington1980a +  and whitehead1967a +
reddish-brown +
0.9mm;1.3mm +
rugose +  and papillate +
broadly reniform +  and round +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
red +, purple-tinged +  and green +
persistent +
distinct +
ovatelanceolate +
0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
Weedy +  and Introduced +
3 +  and 5 +
ascending;decumbent +
4-angled;terete +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
subterminal +  and terminal +
[30 +  and 3 +
papillate +
distinct +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
Stellaria apetala +  and Stellaria media var. procera +
rooting +  and rhizomatous +
Stellaria media +
Stellaria +
species +
divided +
flat-topped +, round +  and obtuse +
10 +  and 8 +
rhizomatous +  and taprooted +
winter-annual +  and annual +
pubescence of simple hairs or stalked glands +  and glabrous +
15 +, 13 +, 12 +, 11 +  and 10 +