Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Longleaf Starwort - Stellaria longifolia  
Members of Caryophyllaceae:
Members of Stellaria with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Family Caryophyllaceae
Author
DistributionSparingly in the Mountains and extreme northern Piedmont. As it is quite similar to S. graminea, it is likely that it has been overlooked as that species, and perhaps also in herbarium collections. Range is presumably a bit incomplete.

"Apparently circumboreal, in North America ranging south to e. SC, w. VA, e. TN, MO, KS, AZ, and CA" (Weakley 2022)
AbundancePresumably rare -- and overlooked -- in the Mountains, and probably very rare in the northern Piedmont.
Habitat"Meadows, floodplain forests, freshwater tidal marshes, moist disturbed areas" (Weakley 2022) within its range. However, in NC, several specimens are from montane forested slopes.
PhenologyFlowers and fruits from May to September.
IdentificationThis is a very slender species, weak-stemmed, growing to 1 to 1.5 feet tall. The opposite leaves are narrow and linear, up to 1.5-2 inches long. The white petals are similar to those in S. graminea. The best field mark is that in S. longifolia, the inflorescence is rather compact, with fewer flowers than can be found in the widely diffuse inflorescence of S. graminea.
Taxonomic CommentsNone

Other Common Name(s)Longleaf Stitchwort
State Rank[S1?]
Global RankG5
State Status[W7]
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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