Grass-like starwort (Stellaria graminea)

Synonyms: Alsine graminea, Stellaria graminea var. latifolia

Common Names: grassleaved stichwort, grasslike starwort, grassy starwort, little starwort

Description:

Habit: Deciduous, fast growing perennial that grows to about 1.8 feet by 0.8 inches.

Leaves: Opposite, linear to narrowly lanceolate, smooth sometimes with fine hairs at the base, entire, sessile.

Stems: Sprawling to erect, smooth, 4-sided, weak, unbranched except in inflorescence.

Flowers: Stalked and clustered, more than 5 flowers per branch, 0.25 - 0.50 inches across, 5 petals, deeply divided, white in color with a star-like green sepal. Stalks are 3/8 to 1.25 inches long, slender, hairless, mostly erect and widely spreading. Papery bracts at the base that are less than 0.25 inches long with sparse, fine hairs.

Fruit and seeds: Oval capsule, 1/3 of an inch long, green or straw colored. Seed is small, reddish brown in color, round to kidney-shaped.

Habitat: Native to Eurasia. Can be found in disturbed sites, agricultural fields, roadsides, trail edges, gravel pits and waste areas.

Reproduction: By seed and vegetatively by rhizomes.

Similar species: Native longleaf starwort (Stellaria longifolia).

Monitoring and rapid response: Stubbing, deep plowing, inter-row cultivation and herbicides have all shown to be effective in managing Stellaria graminea.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Program and Minnesota Wildflowers.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).

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