Botanical name: Stellaria patens    Family: Caryophyllaceae (Carnation family)
Synonyms: Stellaria longissima, Stellaria fenzliana, Stellaria mollis (illeg.)

Spreading Chickweed is a spreading herb, with long, white thread-like hairs. Flowers are which with 5 petals shorter than or nearly equaling sepals, 2-cleft to base; lobes narrowly ovate. A closely similar species, Grass-Leaved Chickweed, has petals distinctly longer than the sepals. Sepals are 5, ovate-lanceshaped or lanceshaped, 5-7 x 1-1.5 mm, outside with white thread-like hairs, 3-veined, margin narrowly membranous, tip pointed. Stamens are 10, almost equaling petals. Flower-stalks are 5-10 mm, with dense long thread-like hairs. Ovary is ovoid-round; styles 3, linear, about 2 mm. Flowers are few to numerous, in dichotomous cymes; bracts ovate-lanceshaped, 4-5 mm, with long thread-like hairs, margin broadly membranous, tip pointed. Stems are yellow, 10-40 cm, slender, shiny, with long thread-like hairs, basally hairless. Leaves are stalkless, linear or linear-lanceshaped, 1-2.5 cm x 2-5 mm, midvein prominently raised, both surfaces with long thread-like hairs, base broadly wedge-shaped, tip pointed or tapering. Capsules are yellow, narrowly ovoid, shorter than persistent sepals, 6-valved. Spreading Chickweed is found in forests, forest margins, from Kashmir to East Himalaya and Tibet, at altitudes of 2200-3600 m.

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The flower labeled Spreading Chickweed is ...