Stellaria graminea
Common names
stitchwort
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Simplified description
Small herb with thin straggling stems, often scrambling through taller vegetation, leaves lance-shaped, usually up to 30 mm long and 5 mm wide in pairs along the stem, with many flowers produced in the upper parts of the plant, each up to 9 mm across, the white petals longer than the green sepals.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Perennial. Stems weak, ascending, 4-angled, glabrous, 15-60-(100) cm long. Lvs green, sessile, connate in pairs, narrow-oblanceolate to narrow-lanceolate below, narrow-lanceolate or becoming linear-lanceolate above, tapering gradually to acute apex and sparsely ciliate or glabrous base, (10)-15-30-(50) × 3-5-(8) mm; margin flat; marginal vein obscure or 0. Infl. a terminal dichasium, lax, (10)-20-60-flowered. Bracts ovate-acuminate to subulate, keeled, 4-7 × 1-3 mm; margins scarious, ciliate. Pedicels slender, patent, glabrous, 10-30-(50) mm long. Sepals narrow-triangular, acute, 3-veined, 4-7 mm long; margins scarious, ciliate. Petals 4-9 mm long, c. = or slightly > sepals. Stamens 10 or fewer. Capsule narrow-ovoid, = or > calyx. Seeds dull brown, c. 1 mm long; papillae low, elongate.
Similar taxa
Similar to bog stitchwort (S. alsine), but has longer, relatively narrower leaves, many flowered inflorescences with larger white flowers.
Distribution
Scattered throughout the North, South and Chatham Islands.
Habitat
Wetlands and margins of water bodies and wet grassland.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November to April
Fruiting
November to April
Year naturalised
1878
Origin
Europe and western Asia
Reason for introduction
Unknown, seed or soil contaminant
Control techniques
Not controlled in New Zealand.
Life cycle and dispersal
Seed dispersed by water and contaminated machinery.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
stellaria: Star flower
graminea: Grassy
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
STEGRM
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. (1988). Flora of New Zealand Volume 4: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch.
Johnson PN, Brooke PA (1989). Wetland plants in New Zealand. DSIR Field Guide, DSIR Publishing, Wellington. 319pp.
Attribution
Factsheet prepared by Paul Champion and Deborah Hofstra (NIWA). Features description from Webb et al. (1988).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.