Stellaria borealis Bigelow

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Caryophyllaceae

• Scientific Name

  Stellaria borealis Bigelow

• Description

  Species Description - Rhizomatous perennial; stems weak, much- branched, angled, glabrous to scabrous, to 5 dm; lvs lanceolate to lance-linear or oblong, 1–4(–6) cm × 2–8 mm, usually narrowed at the base, the margins often ciliate or scabrous; fls (1–)5–50+ in a lax terminal cyme, the lower bracts herbaceous and often foliaceous, the uppermost often reduced and scarious; pedicels 1–4 cm, erect or arching, seldom reflexed; sep lanceolate, 2–3.5(–4.5) mm in fr; pet shorter than the sep, or usually lacking; styles 1–2 mm, at first erect, later spreading; fr rather firm, ovoid, surpassing the sep, often dark; seeds oblong-obovate, 0.7–0.9 mm, obscurely sculptured; 2n=52. Moist, usually shaded places; Greenl. and Lab. to Alas., s. to N.Y., n. W.Va., Mich., Wis., Minn., Colo., and Oreg. May–Aug. Ours is the widespread var. borealis. (Alsine b.; S. calycantha, misapplied)

• Common Names

  northern stitchwort