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Himalayan Starwort
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Himalayan Starwort
P Native Photo: Thingnam Girija
Common name: Himalayan Starwort
Botanical name: Pseudostellaria himalaica    Family: Caryophyllaceae (Carnation family)
Synonyms: Krascheninikovia himalaica, Stellaria davidi var. himalaica, Pseudostellaria heterantha var. himalaica

Himalayan Starwort is a tuberous herb with stems erect, 3-13 cm tall, slender, branched, velvet-hairy. White star-like flowers are borne singly at branch-ends, on flower-stalks 2-4 cm, hairy. Petals are 5, obovate, slightly longer than sepals, margin entire or notched, base slightly narrowed; stamens 10, shorter than petals, anthers brown-purple prominent on the flowers. Sepals are 5, lanceshaped, 3-4 x about 1 mm, tip tapering. Different type of flowers are borne 1 or 2 in proximal leaf axils, on flower-stalks 8-10 mm, hairy; sepals 4, lanceshaped; petals absent. Leaves are ovate, 3-14 x 2-8 mm, midvein prominent, both surfaces velvet-hairy, base narrowed into a short leaf-stalk, tip pointed. Capsules are ovoid, 2-3 mm. Himalayan Starwort is found in N. Pakistan, Himalaya to W. & Central China, at altitudes of 2300-3800 m. Flowering: May-June.

Identification credit: Tabish Photographed in Sonmarg, Kashmir.

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