Engellaria obtusa (synonym Stellaria obtusa) is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae[1] known by the common names Rocky Mountain chickweed,[2] blunt-sepaled starwort, and obtuse starwort. It is the sole species in genus Engellaria.[3] 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.

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Binomial name ...
Engellaria
Thumb
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)
Close

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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