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
herbarium specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Engellaria
Iamonico (2021)
Species:
E. obtusa
Binomial name
Engellaria obtusa
(Engelm.) Iamonico (2021)
Synonyms[1]
  • Alsine obtusa (Engelm.) Rose (1896)
  • Alsine viridula Piper (1913)
  • Alsine washingtoniana (B.L.Rob.) A.Heller (1900)
  • Stellaria obtusa Engelm. (1882) (basionym)
  • Stellaria viridula (Piper) H.St.John (1925)
  • Stellaria washingtoniana B.L.Rob. (1898)

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

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  1. ^ a b Engellaria obtusa (Engelm.) Iamonico. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. ^ NatureServe (2024). "Stellaria obtusa". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  3. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Stellaria obtusa​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  4. ^ Engellaria Iamonico. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
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