Stellaria
Synonymy
Stellaria, Sp. Pl. 1: 421. 1753 sec. Bittrich (1993c)
- Type: Stellaria holostea
- =Alsine, Sp. Pl. 1: 272. 1753 syn. sec. Morton (2005)
- Type: Alsine media
- =Tytthostemma in Trudy Bot. Inst. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R., Ser. 1, Fl. Sist. Vyss. Rast 4: 305. 1937 syn. sec. Bittrich (1993c)
- Type: Tytthostemma alsinoides
- =Mesostemma in Bot. Mater. Gerb. Bot. Inst. Uzbekistansk. Fil. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 3: 4. 1941 syn. sec. Bittrich (1993c)
- Type: Mesostemma karatavicum
- =Fimbripetalum in Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 14: 78. 1977 syn. sec. Bittrich (1993c)
- Type: Fimbripetalum radians
Content
Notes
A genus of about 150 to more likely 200 species of Eurasia and North America, most diverse in the mountains of central Asia. Stellaria is in need of a monographic revision; the most recent infrageneric classification is that of Pax & Hoffman (1934). Greenberg & Donoghue (2011) conducted the most extensive sampling of Stellaria to date, including 44 species. Stellaria is clearly polyphyletic and in need of further study: S. obtusa Engelm. appeared as a sister to a clade including Wilhemsia, Honckenya, and Schiedea; three Mexican/Caribbean species were sister to Minuartia sect. Uninerviae (= Mononeuria of Dillenberger & Kadereit 2014); S. americana (Porter ex B. L. Rob.) Standl. clustered with Pseudostellaria jamesiana (Torr.) W. A. Weber & R. L. Hartm.; and S. holostea, the type of Stellaria, appeared as sister to the clade that includes Cerastium, Dichodon, Holosteum, Moenchia, and the majority of Stellaria species sampled.