Stellaria aff. nemorum L. (Finland, Lammi, Biological Station, 2000). – Image: Harri Harmaja (scanned from dried specimen). – The present plant differs from S. nemorum (Caryophyllaceae): (i) the leaves of 3-4 uppermost pairs are sessile (vs. 1-3), (ii) the leaf blades are essentially ovate, only the lowest (petiolate) leaves having cordate bases (vs. rather cordate throughout the stem), (iii) the styles are four in number (vs. three), and (iv) the flowers have eight (vs. ten) stamens, comprising four longer and four shorter ones (sometimes more than eight; once twelve were counted). Moreover, the plant was striking through its pale green colouration, its stems which were erect and unbranched at the time of collecting (May; only very small branches were emerging from the axils of the lowest, small, already withered leaves) as well as the rather early time of flowering. This kind of plants formed an extensive stand in a moist deciduous wood, dominated by Alnus incana, near lakeshore. Accompanying species included Chrysosplenium alterniflorum, Pulmonaria obscura, and Viola ×ruprechtiana. As to style number, this morph is intermediate between the genera Stellaria L. and the very closely related Myosoton Moench (in fact, the Lammi plant resembles M. aquaticum (L.) Moench in its leaf morphology). The independence of the genus Myosoton, mainly based on the style number (and the number of gynaecium chambers), should perhaps be reconsidered.
Created August 28, 2004.