Stellaria nitens Nutt.
shining starwort (shiny chickweed)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
shining starwort (shiny chickweed)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual herb from slender taproot; stems ascending to erect, simple, solitary to few branched, glabrous or uniformly curly-hairy, threadlike, 3-25 cm tall.
Leaves:
Leaves opposite, confined to the lower half of the stem, the basal with a small egg-shaped blade 3-8 mm long and a slender stalk at least as long; stem leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, 5-10 mm long; stipules lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of several flowers in large membranous-bracted clusters; petals 5 or lacking, shorter than the sepals, 2-cleft nearly to the base; sepals 5, 3-4 mm long, lanceolate, abruptly sharp-pointed, margins translucent, 3-nerved.
Fruits:
Capsules narrowly cylindric egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long, 6-valved; seeds 0.5-0.7 mm long, finely wrinkled-warty.
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
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Winter
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Spring
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Stellaria nitens
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) |
685 | 470 | 821 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
37 | 15 | 63 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
75 | 22 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 1 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
14 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(2), ICH(2), IDF(3), PP(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry grassy bluffs, streambanks and open slopes in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent on S Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, infrequent E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains in S BC; E to SW AB and S to MT, VT, CA and MX.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Stellaria praecox A. Nelson