E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Holosteum umbellatum L.
umbellate chickweed (jagged chickweed)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Reg Newman  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #12207)

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Distribution of Holosteum umbellatum
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Holosteum umbellatum ssp. umbellatum

Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect, 1-several, simple or basally branched, sticky above, glabrous below, stems 5-35 cm tall.
Leaves:
Leaves mainly in a basal rosette, lanceolate to oblong, 1-2 cm long, short-stalked, soon deciduous; stem leaves opposite, 2-3 pairs remote from the inflorescence, narrowly egg-shaped to oblong, 1-3.5 cm long, unstalked; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 2-16 flowers in a terminal umbel-like cluster with a tiny, bracted involucre; petals 5, oblanceolate, white or pale pink, raggedly-frilled, 5-7 mm long; sepals oblanceolate, distinct, 2.5-5 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules egg-shaped to cylindric, 4-6 mm long, 6-valved, the tips of the valves recurved to tightly curled down; seeds prominently pimply-warty, the warts with interlocking starlike bases.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry disturbed areas in the lowland and steppe zones; infrequent in SC BC, rare in SW BC, known from the Saanich Peninsula and lower Fraser Valley; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Holosteum umbellatum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 350 514 810
Slope Gradient (%) 0 29 82
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		60 285 337
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		2 3 5
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 13
Modal BEC Zone Class
 PP
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(5), ICH(1), PP(7)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Holosteum umbellatum subsp. umbellatum

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Caryophyllaceae
 Flora North America treatment for Holosteum umbellatum
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-16 8:59:48 PM ]
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