''Stellaria'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 190 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

, with a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

. Common names include starwort, stitchwort and chickweed.

Description

''Stellaria'' species are relatively small herbs with simple opposite leaves. It produces small flowers with 5 sepals and 5 white

petals Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

each usually deeply cleft, or none at all, all free. Stamens 10 or fewer.Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. ''Excursion Flora of the British Isles''.

Uses

Some species, including '' Stellaria media'' which is widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, are used as

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by their petioles and shoots, if tender. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...

s, often raw in

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...

s. This is a favored food of finches and many other seed-eating birds. Chickweeds are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including angle shades,

heart and dart The heart and dart (''Agrotis exclamationis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was Species description, first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. A familiar m ...

, riband wave, setaceous Hebrew character and the ''

Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors have t ...

'' case-bearers ''C. coenosipennella'' (feeds exclusively on ''Stellaria'' species), ''C. lineolea'' (recorded on ''S. graminea''), ''C. lithargyrinella'' (recorded on ''S. holostea''), ''C. solitariella'' (feeds exclusively on ''S. holostea'') and ''C. striatipennella''. Several closely related plants referred to as chickweed, but which lack the culinary properties of plants in the genus ''Stellaria'', include members of the genus '' Cerastium'', of similar appearance to ''Stellaria'' and also in the (Caryophyllaceae).

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Stellaria'': * '' Stellaria abadensis'' * '' Stellaria × adulterina'' * '' Stellaria alaschanica'' * '' Stellaria alaskana'' * '' Stellaria × alpestris'' * '' Stellaria alsine'' – bog stitchwort * '' Stellaria alsinoides'' * '' Stellaria altimontana'' * '' Stellaria × ambigua'' * '' Stellaria amblyosepala'' * '' Stellaria amplexicaulis'' * '' Stellaria anagalloides'' * '' Stellaria angarae'' * '' Stellaria angustifolia'' * '' Stellaria antillana'' * '' Stellaria apetala'' * '' Stellaria aphanantha'' * '' Stellaria aphananthoidea'' * '' Stellaria aquatica'' – water chickweed * '' Stellaria arenarioides'' * '' Stellaria arvalis'' * '' Stellaria australis'' * '' Stellaria bayanensis'' * '' Stellaria bistyla'' * '' Stellaria blatteri'' * '' Stellaria borealis'' * '' Stellaria brachypetala'' * '' Stellaria bungeana'' * '' Stellaria calycantha'' * '' Stellaria celsa'' * '' Stellaria chilensis'' * '' Stellaria chinensis'' * '' Stellaria cilicica'' * '' Stellaria circinata'' * '' Stellaria concinna'' * '' Stellaria congestiflora'' * '' Stellaria corei'' * '' Stellaria crassifolia'' * '' Stellaria crispa'' * '' Stellaria cryptantha'' * '' Stellaria cryptopetala'' * '' Stellaria cuonaensis'' * '' Stellaria cupaniana'' * '' Stellaria cuspidata'' * '' Stellaria darvasievii'' * '' Stellaria davurica'' * '' Stellaria debilis'' * '' Stellaria decipiens'' * '' Stellaria decumbens'' * '' Stellaria delavayi'' * '' Stellaria depauperata'' * '' Stellaria depressa'' * '' Stellaria dianthifolia'' * '' Stellaria dichotoma'' * '' Stellaria dicranoides'' * '' Stellaria discolor'' * '' Stellaria edwardsii'' * '' Stellaria emirnensis'' * '' Stellaria erlangeriana'' * '' Stellaria eschscholtziana'' * '' Stellaria fennica'' * '' Stellaria fenzlii'' * '' Stellaria filicaulis'' * '' Stellaria filiformis'' * '' Stellaria fischeriana'' * '' Stellaria flaccida'' – forest starwort * '' Stellaria gracilenta'' * '' Stellaria graminea'' – lesser stitchwort * '' Stellaria gyangtseensis'' * '' Stellaria gyirongensis'' * '' Stellaria gyirongensis'' * '' Stellaria hebecalyx'' * '' Stellaria henryi'' * '' Stellaria hintoniorum'' * '' Stellaria howardii'' * '' Stellaria humifusa'' – saltmarsh starwort * '' Stellaria imbricata'' * '' Stellaria infracta'' * '' Stellaria inundata'' * '' Stellaria irazuensis'' * ''

Stellaria irrigua ''Stellaria irrigua'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names umbrella starwort and umbellate starwort. It is native to western North America from Alaska and north-western Canada to the south-wester ...

'' * '' Stellaria jacutica'' * '' Stellaria koelzii'' * '' Stellaria kolymensis'' * '' Stellaria krylovii'' * '' Stellaria laeta'' * '' Stellaria lanata'' * '' Stellaria lanipes'' * '' Stellaria laxmannii'' * '' Stellaria leptoclada'' * '' Stellaria littoralis'' * '' Stellaria longifolia'' * '' Stellaria longipes'' – long-stalk starwort * '' Stellaria mainlingensis'' * '' Stellaria mannii'' * '' Stellaria media'' – common chickweed * '' Stellaria merzbacheri'' * '' Stellaria miahuatlana'' * '' Stellaria minuta'' * ''

Stellaria minutifolia ''Stellaria'' is a genus of about 190 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Caryophyllaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. Common names include starwort, stitchwort and chickweed. Description ''Stellaria'' species are ...

References

* ''Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West'', Gregory L. Tilford,

External links

* {{Authority control Caryophyllaceae genera Leaf vegetables Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus