172 Species in Genus Stellaria

My Fascination with Stellaria (Starwort)

As a botanist, I’ve always been drawn to the subtle beauty and quiet resilience of the plant genus Stellaria. These delicate plants, often overlooked amidst showier blooms, possess a charm that captivates those who take the time to truly observe them. Known commonly as starworts or chickweeds, they belong to the Caryophyllaceae family, which also includes carnations and pinks. But unlike their flamboyant relatives, Stellaria species exude a simple elegance, their small, star-shaped flowers a testament to the understated beauty of nature.

My interest in Stellaria began in my childhood. I recall spending countless hours exploring the meadows and woodlands near my home, fascinated by the diversity of plant life that thrived there. Amongst the grasses and wildflowers, I often encountered patches of delicate white flowers, their petals so deeply cleft that they appeared to be ten instead of five. These, I later learned, were Stellaria plants, their star-like blooms giving rise to their common name.

Over the years, my fascination with Stellaria has only deepened. I’ve come to appreciate not only their aesthetic appeal but also their ecological importance and potential uses. Some species, like Stellaria media (common chickweed), are edible and have been used for centuries as a food source and in traditional medicine. Others, like Stellaria holostea (greater stitchwort), are important components of woodland ecosystems, providing food and habitat for various insects and animals.

A Diverse Genus

The genus Stellaria is surprisingly diverse, encompassing around 170 species distributed across the globe. These plants exhibit a remarkable adaptability, thriving in a variety of habitats, from woodlands and meadows to mountains and coastal areas:

1. Stellaria abaensis H.F.Xu & Z.H.Ma
2. Stellaria × adulterina Focke
3. Stellaria alaschanica Y.Z.Zhao
4. Stellaria alaskana Hultén
5. Stellaria × alpestris (Hartm.) Hartm.
6. Stellaria alsine Grimm
7. Stellaria alsinoides Boiss. & Buhse
8. Stellaria altimontana N.S.Pavlova
9. Stellaria × ambigua Bég.
10. Stellaria amplexicaulis (Hand.-Mazz.) Huan C.Wang & Feng Yang
11. Stellaria anagalloides Rupr.
12. Stellaria angarae Popov
13. Stellaria angustifolia Hook.
14. Stellaria antillana Urb.
15. Stellaria apetala Ucria
16. Stellaria aphanantha Griseb.
17. Stellaria aphananthoidea Muschl.
18. Stellaria aquatica (L.) Scop.
19. Stellaria arenarioides Shi L.Chen, Rabeler & Turland
20. Stellaria arvalis Fenzl ex F.Phil.
21. Stellaria assadii Mahdavi
22. Stellaria australis Zoll. & Moritzi
23. Stellaria bayanensis L.Q.Zhao & Y.Z.Zhao
24. Stellaria bistyla Y.Z.Zhao
25. Stellaria borealis Bigelow
26. Stellaria brachypetala Bunge
27. Stellaria bungeana Fenzl
28. Stellaria calycantha (Ledeb.) Bong.
29. Stellaria celsa Ravenna
30. Stellaria chilensis Pedersen
31. Stellaria chinensis Regel
32. Stellaria circinata Ravenna
33. Stellaria concinna Ravenna
34. Stellaria congestiflora H.Hara
35. Stellaria corei Shinners
36. Stellaria crassifolia Ehrh.
37. Stellaria crispa Cham. & Schltdl.
38. Stellaria cryptantha (Mattf.) M.T.Sharples & E.A.Tripp
39. Stellaria cryptopetala Griseb.
40. Stellaria cuonaensis L.H.Zhou
41. Stellaria cupaniana (Jord. & Fourr.) Bég.
42. Stellaria cuspidata Willd. ex D.F.K.Schltdl.
43. Stellaria darvasievii Kamelin
44. Stellaria davurica D.F.K.Schltdl.
45. Stellaria debilis d’Urv.
46. Stellaria decipiens Hook.f.
47. Stellaria decumbens Edgew.
48. Stellaria delavayi Franch.
49. Stellaria depauperata Edgew.
50. Stellaria depressa Em.Schmid
51. Stellaria dianthifolia F.N.Williams
52. Stellaria dicranoides (Cham. & Schltdl.) Fenzl
53. Stellaria discolor Turcz.
54. Stellaria edwardsii R.Br.
55. Stellaria emirnensis Danguy
56. Stellaria erlangeriana Engl.
57. Stellaria eschscholtziana Fenzl
58. Stellaria fennica (Murb.) Perfil.
59. Stellaria fenzlii Regel
60. Stellaria filicaulis Makino
61. Stellaria filiformis (Benth.) Mattf.
62. Stellaria fischeriana Ser.
63. Stellaria flaccida Hook.
64. Stellaria × glauciformis Bouvet
65. Stellaria gracilenta Hook.f.
66. Stellaria graminea L.
67. Stellaria gyangtsensis F.N.Williams
68. Stellaria gyirongensis L.H.Zhou
69. Stellaria hebecalyx Fenzl
70. Stellaria henryi F.N.Williams
71. Stellaria hibinoi Seriz.
72. Stellaria hintoniorum B.L.Turner
73. Stellaria humifusa Rottb.
74. Stellaria × hybrida Rouy & Foucaud
75. Stellaria imbricata Bunge
76. Stellaria infracta Maxim.
77. Stellaria inundata Vorosch.
78. Stellaria irazuensis Donn.Sm.
79. Stellaria irrigua Bunge
80. Stellaria jacutica Schischk.
81. Stellaria koelzii Rech.f.
82. Stellaria kolymensis A.P.Khokhr.
83. Stellaria krylovii N.V.Vlassova & Artemov
84. Stellaria laeta Richardson
85. Stellaria lanata Hook.f.
86. Stellaria × lancifolia Kom.
87. Stellaria lanipes C.Y.Wu & H.Chuang
88. Stellaria laxmannii Fisch. ex Ser.
89. Stellaria leptoclada (Benth.) C.H.Mill. & J.G.West
90. Stellaria littoralis Torr.
91. Stellaria longifolia Muhl. ex Willd.
92. Stellaria longipes Goldie
93. Stellaria mainlingensis L.H.Zhou
94. Stellaria mannii Hook.f.
95. Stellaria media (L.) Vill.
96. Stellaria merzbacheri Kozhevn.
97. Stellaria miahuatlana B.L.Turner
98. Stellaria minuta Kirk
99. Stellaria montioides (Edgew. & Hook.f.) Ghaz.
100. Stellaria motuoensis Meng Li & Y.F.Song
101. Stellaria multiflora Hook.
102. Stellaria multipartita Bo Xu & Meng Li
103. Stellaria neglecta (Lej.) Weihe
104. Stellaria nemorum L.
105. Stellaria nepalensis Majumdar & Vartak
106. Stellaria nipponica Ohwi
107. Stellaria nitens Nutt.
108. Stellaria nubigena Standl.
109. Stellaria omeiensis C.Y.Wu & Tsui ex P.Ke
110. Stellaria ovata Willd. ex D.F.K.Schltdl.
111. Stellaria oxycoccoides Kom.
112. Stellaria palustris Ehrh. ex Hoffm.
113. Stellaria papillata C.H.Mill. & J.G.West
114. Stellaria parviflora Banks & Sol. ex Hook.f.
115. Stellaria parviumbellata Y.Z.Zhao
116. Stellaria patens D.Don
117. Stellaria pauciflora Zoll. & Moritzi
118. Stellaria pedersenii Volponi
119. Stellaria peduncularis Bunge
120. Stellaria pentastyla W.Qiao Wang, H.F.Xu & Z.H.Ma
121. Stellaria persica Boiss.
122. Stellaria petiolaris Hand.-Mazz.
123. Stellaria pilosoides Shi L.Chen, Rabeler & Turland
124. Stellaria pinvalliaca Chandra Sek. & S.K.Srivast.
125. Stellaria polyantha (Edgew. & Hook.f.) M.T.Sharples & E.A.Tripp
126. Stellaria porsildii C.C.Chinnappa
127. Stellaria procumbens Huan C.Wang & Feng Yang
128. Stellaria pterosperma Ohwi
129. Stellaria pubera Michx.
130. Stellaria pulvinata Grubov
131. Stellaria pungens Brongn.
132. Stellaria pusilla Em.Schmid
133. Stellaria radians L.
134. Stellaria recurvata Willd. ex D.F.K.Schltdl.
135. Stellaria reticulivena Hayata
136. Stellaria rigida Bunge
137. Stellaria roughii Hook.f.
138. Stellaria ruderalis M.Lepší, P.Lepší, Z.Kaplan & P.Koutecký
139. Stellaria ruscifolia D.F.K.Schltdl.
140. Stellaria salicifolia Tsui & P.Ke
141. Stellaria sanjuanensis M.T.Sharples & E.A.Tripp
142. Stellaria sarcophylla Rech.f.
143. Stellaria schischkinii Peschkova
144. Stellaria semivestita Edgew.
145. Stellaria sennii Chiov.
146. Stellaria serpens Ravenna
147. Stellaria sessiliflora Y.Yabe
148. Stellaria sibirica (Regel & Tiling) Schischk.
149. Stellaria sikaramensis Rech.f.
150. Stellaria sikkimensis Hook.f.
151. Stellaria sitchana Steud.
152. Stellaria soongorica Roshev.
153. Stellaria souliei F.N.Williams
154. Stellaria strongylosepala Hand.-Mazz.
155. Stellaria taiwanensis S.S.Ying
156. Stellaria tetrasticha (Mattf.) M.T.Sharples & E.A.Tripp
157. Stellaria tibetica Kurz
158. Stellaria uchiyamana Makino
159. Stellaria uda F.N.Williams
160. Stellaria undulata Thunb.
161. Stellaria venezuelana Steyerm.
162. Stellaria vestita Kurz
163. Stellaria viridifolia (A.P.Khokhr.) A.P.Khokhr.
164. Stellaria wallichiana Haines
165. Stellaria weddellii Pedersen
166. Stellaria williamsiana Kozhevn.
167. Stellaria winkleri (Briq.) Schischk.
168. Stellaria yinshanensis L.Q.Zhao & Y.Z.Zhao
169. Stellaria yungasensis (Rusby) Rusby ex Volponi
170. Stellaria yunnanensis Franch.
171. Stellaria zangnanensis L.H.Zhou
172. Stellaria zhuxiensis Q.L.Gan & X.W.Li

The Importance of Stellaria

While often overlooked, Stellaria plants play a vital role in their respective ecosystems. They serve as a food source for various insects and animals, including caterpillars, birds, and small mammals. Their flowers provide nectar for pollinators, and their seeds help to disperse the plants to new areas.

In addition to their ecological importance, Stellaria species have also been used by humans for centuries. Common chickweed, in particular, has a long history of use as a food source and herbal remedy. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals and can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as a potherb. In traditional medicine, chickweed has been used to treat a variety of ailments, including skin irritations, respiratory problems, and digestive issues.

Looking Ahead

As a botanist, I believe that Stellaria plants deserve more attention and appreciation. They are not only beautiful and ecologically important but also have the potential to provide us with food and medicine. I am excited to continue my research on this fascinating genus, exploring its diversity, ecological roles, and potential uses. I believe that Stellaria holds many secrets waiting to be uncovered, and I am eager to contribute to our understanding of these remarkable plants.