Stellaria longipes
 
Long-Stalked Stitchwort

Flower Top

Centre Block, Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
10-July-2014

Note the five deeply cleft petals and ten stamens.  The flower of this species usually has three styles.  However, occasionally there are four, as in this specimen.

Note that the key to the species in Flora of Alberta requires:

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leaves firm; NOT [leaves soft, slightly fleshy] 

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leaves rigid 

Yet the key to the species in Budd's Flora requires:

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leaves NOT rigid 

Note also that the key to the species in Budd's Flora requires:

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petals cleft less than halfway; NOT [petals cleft more than halfway, almost to base]

In fact, the opposite is true for this species.  The rest of the answers to the key questions are listed below.

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Longipes:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora (BF) and Flora of Alberta (FOA)  leading to this species.  Part of the key answer from Flora of North America (FONA) distinguishing L. longipes from L. longifolia is also included.
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plants perennial; NOT [plants annual]

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plant with a few short, erect or ascending stems; NOT [plant freely branching, often matted]

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plants usually 10-20 cm high; NOT [plants usually less than 10 cm high]

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plants glabrous; NOT [plants glandular pubescent throughout]

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plants NOT glandular-viscid

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upper part of stems and leaf margins smooth (although soft hairs of cilia may be present); NOT [upper part of stems and leaf margins papillate, rough]

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basal leaves sessile; NOT [basal leaves petioled]

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internodes long

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leaves erect; NOT [leaves spreading or loosely ascending] (FOA)

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leaves linear- or elliptic-lanceolate, length-to-width ratio more than 4:1; NOT [leaves ovate-lanceolate, length-to-width ratio less than 4:1]

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leaf blades lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, broadest proximally; NOT [leaf blades linear-elliptic, broadest at middle or distally] (FONA)

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leaves linear-lanceolate, mostly broadest below the middle; NOT [leaves linear, acute at both ends] (FOA)

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leaves keeled

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leaves NOT thick (BF)

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leaves glaucous

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inflorescence cymose; NOT [inflorescence subumbellate]

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pedicels erect or ascending; NOT [pedicels widely spreading] (FOA)

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bracts, leaves, and sepals NOT ciliate; NOT [bracts and leaves or sepals ciliate]

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petals as long as the sepals or slightly longer; NOT [petals shorter than the sepals, or lacking]

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capsule generally purplish black; NOT [capsules straw-coloured]

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capsule teeth erect; NOT [capsule teeth reflexed]

 

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Stellaria: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus. Not all the answers apply to all members of Stellaria found in the Canadian prairies, but they all do apply to this species.  
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plants NOT with woody base

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leaves without stipules; NOT [leaves with scarious stipules], NOT [plants with small, ovate, papery stipules at junction of stem and leaf, and stem and branch]

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corolla present

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sepals entirely separate; NOT [sepals united part way, forming a tube]

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petals deeply 2-cleft; NOT [petals entire or merely notched at apex]

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petals LACKING claws

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styles usually 3; NOT [styles usually 5]

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ovary NOT stipitate

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capsule ovoid or ellipsoid; NOT [capsule cylindric, often curved]

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capsule short; NOT [capsule long]

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fruit dehiscent

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capsule opening with twice as many valves or teeth as there are styles; NOT [capsule opening with as many entire (or later 2-cleft) valves as there are styles] (BF)

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capsules dehiscing by valves; NOT [capsule dehiscing by teeth] (FOA)

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capsule usually opening with 6 valves; NOT [capsule usually opening with 10 valves] (BF)

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fruit several-seeded; NOT [fruit 1-seeded]

 
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Caryophyllaceae:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family.
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herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]

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plants terrestrial or semiaquatic; NOT [plants aquatic, leaves submerged or floating]

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terrestrial plants; NOT [mud plants with small axillary flowers]

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plants NOT with colored milky juice

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plants with more than one normal leaf

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leaves opposite, whorled, or basal; NOT [some or all leaves alternate]

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leaves NOT glandular-dotted

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plants WITHOUT large petal-like bracts

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flowers with two floral rings, and with each petal distinct from the others]

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sepals more than 2; NOT [sepals 2]

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stamens NOT united at base

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styles 2 or more; NOT [styles single]