Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stellaria media
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Common Chickweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stellaria media ssp. media
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Stellaria media
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-07-002:
Stellaria media FAMILY Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Alsine media
COMMON NAME:
Common Chickweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_alme5_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_169
)
JK Marlow jkm120112_860
January Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm0403n_30
March Greenville County SC
Upper leaves without petiole; lower leaves with sparsely hairy long petiole, per Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992).
)
JK Marlow jkm070311_005
March Greenville County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_media_commonchickwd
March
Sepals usually glandular-hairy w obtuse apex, longer than or equaling petals, per Flora of North America.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_stellaria_meadia_3
March
Three stigmas, red anthers, and 5 two-lobed petals (looking like 10 petals), per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
JK Marlow jkm141025_313
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stellaria media
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stellaria media ssp. media
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Stellaria media
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-07-002:
Stellaria media
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Alsine media
1463
Forb
Winter annual
Habitat: Disturbed areas, gardens, fields, bottomlands, moist forests, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
White
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
3-5(-8) stamens
Superior ovary
Usually bisexual
FRUIT:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p121
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p365
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p235
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p524
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p274
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p133
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p193
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p009
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: Northeastern US (Clemants & Gracie, 2006) p328
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p059
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p081
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p041
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992) p080
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".