Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stellaria pubera
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Giant Chickweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Both Stellaria corei and S. pubera have an interesting seasonal growth form, producing short and relatively small-leaved flowering shoots in the spring (which wither following fruiting), followed by taller, more vigorous summer shoots with larger and tougher leaves and lacking flowers, which persist until autumn, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stellaria pubera
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Stellaria pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-07-004:
Stellaria pubera
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Stellaria pubera var. pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Alsine pubera
COMMON NAME:
Giant Chickweed, Star Chickweed, Great Chickweed, Common Starwort
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_alpu8_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm090321_095
March Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Stem leaves are mostly lanceolate, to 3.5" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee.
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JK Marlow jkm200322_3339
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Sepals are acute to obtuse and shorter than the petals, per Wildflowers of Tennessee.
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JK Marlow jkm200322_3365
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_stellaria_pubera
March
Apparently 10 petals, but actually 5 petals deeply split, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States.
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JK Marlow jkm0404h_17
April Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm130422_668
April Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm160422_120
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Fruit is an ovoid capsule containing many small seeds, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
)
JK Marlow jkm160423_474
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Short, small-leaved flowering shoots replaced by taller shoots w larger lvs, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
)
JK Marlow jkm180427_1552
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm200403_3475
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm200422_4040
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210401_9084
April Polk County NC
)
Keith Bradley kab_stellaria_pubera_0473
April NC
)
Keith Bradley kab_stellaria_pubera_1349
April Polk County SC
Pearson's Falls
)
Keith Bradley kab_stellaria_pubera_1369
April Polk County SC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm160727_445
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Sterile and fertile shoots dimorphic, the leaves of sterile shoots much larger, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm160727_449
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm210824_2988
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stellaria pubera
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stellaria pubera
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Stellaria pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 071-07-004:
Stellaria pubera
FAMILY
Caryophyllaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Stellaria pubera var. pubera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Alsine pubera
1464
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon to rare in Coastal Plain)
Habitat: Bottomland forests, moist slopes, coves, hammocks, per Weakley's Flora
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.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Usually bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
5-10 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p176
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p036
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p190
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p274
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia p363
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p022
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p134
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p008
- Wildflowers in the Field and Forest p328
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p057
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p067
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p059
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p081
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p447
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p040