STELLARIA MEDIA

Family:- CARYOPHYLLACEAE/S. MEDIA Group

Common Names:- Chickweed

Synonyms:- Alsine media, Stellularia media.

Meaning:- Stellaria (L) With spreading rays, star-like.

Media (L) Between, intermediate, mid-sized.

General description:- Annual.

Stems:-

1) Up to 40 cm, with 1(2) lines of hairs, or rarely glabrous.

Leaves:-

1) Opposite, entire, usually glabrous.

2) Lower, ovate, acute or acuminate, with long petioles; upper more or less sessile.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence, few- or many-flowered; glandular, usually lax, pedicels patent or

erect in fruit.

2) Sepals, 3-5 mm;

3) Petals, 5 white equalling or slightly shorter than sepals, deeply bifid nearly to

their base, the flowers appearing to have 10 narrow petals.

4) Stamens, (0-)3-5(-10).

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, glabrous, with about 15 seeds;

2) Seeds, usually 0·8-1·3 mm, usually dark reddish-brown with rounded, rarely

conical tubercles.

Key features:-

1) Stems hairy all round.

2) Sepals usually more than 3 mm.

3) Seeds usually more than 0·8 mm, dark reddish-brown.

4) Petals present (rarely minute or absent).

Habitat:- Weed of gardens, field margins and ruderal places, but also in damp

woods and other seminatural habitats. (0-)3001900 m.

Distribution:- Widespread throughout the Mediterranean region. Fairly widespread

and common on Crete.

Flowering time:- Mar-June and sporadically throughout the year.

Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis