''Engellaria obtusa'' (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Stellaria obtusa'') is a species of flowering plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

known by the common names Rocky Mountain chickweed, blunt-sepaled starwort, and obtuse starwort. It is the sole species in genus ''Engellaria''.''Engellaria'' Iamonico
''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

''. Retrieved 23 March 2024. It is native to western North America, from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, where it grows in moist areas in forests and on mountain slopes. It is a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial herb producing a prostrate, creeping, branching stem up to about 20 centimeters long, sometimes forming mats. The oval leaves are up to about a centimeter long and are borne in opposite pairs on the stem. Solitary flowers occur in the leaf axils, each borne on a short

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

. The small flower has no petals, just four to five blunt-tipped green

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s each a few millimeters long.

References

External links

Jepson eFlora TreatmentFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
Caryophyllaceae Monotypic Caryophyllaceae genera Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora without expected TNC conservation status Plants described in 1882 Taxa named by George Engelmann {{Caryophyllaceae-stub