Stellaria obtusa Engelm.
blunt-sepaled starwort (Rocky Mountain chickweed)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
blunt-sepaled starwort (Rocky Mountain chickweed)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a slender rhizome; stems prostrate to ascending, several, branched, matted, glabrous, 3-20 cm tall/long.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves opposite, egg-shaped, abruptly sharp-pointed, 5-12 mm long, 2.5-8.0 mm wide, glabrous except for a few long basal, marginal hairs, unstalked or the lower ones short-stalked; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary flowers in the leaf axils; petals lacking; sepals 4 or 5, egg-shaped to elliptic, 2-3 mm long, very slightly or not at all papery on the margins, more or less obtuse.
Fruits:
Capsules globose-egg-shaped, 2-4 mm long, 6-valved; seeds 0.6-0.7 mm long, dark brown, finely though distinctly cross-wrinkled with undulate ridges.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Stellaria obtusa
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)
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 |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1577 | 525 | 2257 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
13 | 3 | 30 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
22 | 0 | 340 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 2 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
|||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
6 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
AT | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(4), IDF(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to moist meadows and streambanks in the montane zone; rare E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains in S BC; N to S AK, E to AB and S to CO and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Alsine obtusa (Engelm.) Rose
Alsine viridula Piper
Alsine washingtoniana (B.L. Rob.) A. Heller
Stellaria viridula (Piper) H. St. John
Stellaria washingtoniana B.L. Rob.