Engellaria obtusa (synonym Stellaria obtusa) is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae[1] known by the common names Rocky Mountain chickweed,[3] blunt-sepaled starwort, and obtuse starwort. It is the sole species in genus Engellaria.[4] It is native to western North America, from British Columbia and Alberta to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist areas in forests and on mountain slopes.
Engellaria | |
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herbarium specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
Genus: | Engellaria Iamonico (2021) |
Species: | E. obtusa
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Binomial name | |
Engellaria obtusa (Engelm.) Iamonico (2021)
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Synonyms[1] | |
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It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a prostrate, creeping, branching stem up to about 20 centimeters long, sometimes forming mats. The oval leaves are up to about a centimeter long and are borne in opposite pairs on the stem. Solitary flowers occur in the leaf axils, each borne on a short pedicel. The small flower has no petals, just four to five blunt-tipped green sepals each a few millimeters long.
References
edit- ^ a b Engellaria obtusa (Engelm.) Iamonico. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ NatureServe (2024). "Stellaria obtusa". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Stellaria obtusa". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Engellaria Iamonico. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 March 2024.