Stellaria
See list of 8 species in this genusStellaria longipes Goldie was reported from ME by Kartesz (1999), and was taken up by Magee and Ahles (1999). The record was based on maps presented in Chinnappa and Morton (1976), where dots could be interpreted as being very close to or within the state of ME. However, the authors did not explicitly attribute this species to New England, nor did the second author consider this species part of the New England flora in his later work on the genus (see reference that follows). Therefore, Stellaria longipes should not be considered part of the New England flora. Stellaria palustris (Murr.) Retz. was reported from ME by Campbell et al. (1995), but specimens are unknown. Reference: Morton (2005c).
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1a. At least the lower leaves with evident petioles; stems pubescent in 1 or 2 lines [Fig. 578]
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2a. Sepals (3.5–) 4.5–5 (–6) mm long; leaf blades 3–25 mm long; capsules shortly exceeding the persistent sepals
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2b. Sepals (7.5–) 8–11 mm long; leaf blades 10–100 mm long; capsules shorter than the persistent sepals
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1b. All the leaves sessile; stems glabrous or minutely scabrous (sometimes apically hispidulous in S. holostea)
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3a. Bracts subtending the pedicels herbaceous and green throughout [Fig. 578]; inflorescence either of flowers in the axils of normal foliage leaves or at branches in the stem or the inflorescence a terminal cyme
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4a. Sepals 6–8 mm long; petals 8–12 mm long, conspicuously exceeding the sepals (the petals rarely absent); seeds 1.5–2 mm long, coarsely papillose
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4b. Sepals 2–5 mm long; petals 1–6 mm long, shorter than or barely exceeding the sepals (petals sometimes absent) [Fig. 578]; seeds 0.7–1 mm long, smooth or obscurely marked or roughened
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5a. Leaf blades 4–15 ×1–5 mm, fleshy, many of the axils bearing sterile tufts or branchlets; capsules slightly shorter than to equaling the length of the persistent sepals; plants halophytic
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5b. Leaf blades 7–60 ×2–8 mm, not fleshy, usually without sterile tufts or branchlets; capsules much longer than the persistent sepals; plants not halophytic
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3b. Bracts subtending the flowers either wholly scarious or with only a central green strip [Fig. 579]; inflorescence usually a terminal cyme [Fig. 579]
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6a. Cymes produced in the axils of leaves; sepals 2.5–3.5 mm long; petals shorter than the sepals (or the petals absent); seeds 0.3–0.7 mm long
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6b. Cymes produced at the apex of the stem; sepals 2–7 mm long; petals nearly as long as or longer than the sepals; seeds 0.7–1.2 mm long
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7a. Stems smooth; sepals conspicuously 3-veined, 3–7 mm long; leaf blades narrow-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, usually widest below the middle; seeds coarsely rugose-tuberculate
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7b. Stems papillate-scabrous on the angles; sepals obscurely 3-veined, 2–4 mm long; leaf blades linear to oblanceolate or narrow-elliptic, usually widest at or above the middle; seeds obscurely sculpted, nearly smooth
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Each photo represents one species in this genus.