Biology:Stellaria fontinalis

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Short description: Species of flowering plant

Stellaria fontinalis
Image shows the small, green flower

Vulnerable (NatureServe)
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Stellaria
Species:
S. fontinalis
Binomial name
Stellaria fontinalis
(Short and Peter) B.L. Robinson

Stellaria fontinalis, commonly called American water starwort[1] or Kentucky starwort,[2] is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is a very rare species, endemic to the Nashville Basin of Tennessee, the Kentucky River Pallisades of Kentucky, and in northern Alabama.[3] It is found in wet limestone areas, often on cliffs or ledges where water seeps over the rocks.[4]

Line drawing

Stellaria fontinalis is a winter annual forming dense colonies, which produce very small green flowers in the spring. It has been taxonomically difficult to place, sometimes being included in the genera Sagina, Minuartia, or Arenaria among others.[2] The most recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that it is best placed in the genus Sabulina.[4]

References

  1. "Stellaria fontinalis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=STFO. Retrieved 1 December 2015. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Stellaria fontinals in Flora of North America
  3. "Cuphea viscosissima", County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA) (Biota of North America Program (BONAP)), 2014, http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Cuphea%20viscosissima.png, retrieved 20 January 2017 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States". http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm. 

Wikidata ☰ Q15576056 entry