''Lysimachia borealis'' (synonym ''Trientalis borealis''), the starflower, is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n woodland

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

that blooms between May and June.

Description

Starflowers have creeping

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

s with vertical stalks. Each stalk has a whorl of 5–10

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

leaves (up to long) at its tip, with one to four (most often one or two) white flowers on smaller stalks extending from the center of the whorl. The flowers are about across and consist of five to nine petals that form a star-like shape. Its fruit is tiny, globe-shaped, pale blue, and matte.

Biology

''Lysimachia borealis'' has three, fairly discrete phases of the life cycle each year: shoot development, rhizome growth, and tuber formation. The species reproduces both sexually, by seed, and asexually, via tubers. Flowers are pollinated primarily by halictid and andrenid bees. In response to warming, ''L. borealis'' appears to shift reproductive effort away from sexual reproduction toward asexual vegetative spread. The species may show evidence for local adaptation, as northern and southern populations display differences in the timing of initiation of shoot growth and in the response of seeds to cold stratification. Starflower is a larval host for the

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small – less than in length – and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several fa ...

''Pelenomus sulcicollis.''

Distribution and habitat

''Lysimachia borealis'' is found from Canada to north-central and eastern United States, primarily in boreal forest in Canada and in northern conifer-hardwood forests in the United States. It is found in

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

s. The species is one of the ten most common herbaceous-layer native plants in eastern deciduous U.S. National Park forests. The Lysimachia Latifolia, (Pacific Starflower) which is a pinkish, purple variety, is native to the west coast of the United States and parts of western Canada.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: *''Trientalis borealis'' Raf. ssp. ''borealis'' *''Trientalis borealis'' Raf. ssp. ''latifolia'' (Hook.) Hultén – broadleaf starflower

Conservation status

''Lysimachia borealis'' is considered to be of "least concern" overall according to the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

. As of 2017, ''L. borealis'' is listed as endangered by Georgia and Kentucky and as threatened by Illinois and Tennessee.

References

Northern Starflower
borealforest.org *''Wildflowers of Minnesota's Northwoods'' pamphlet, 1999, Minnesota DNR borealis Flora of Northern America Plants described in 1808 {{primulaceae-stub