Stellaria longipes
 
Long-Stalked Stitchwort

Upper Stem

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

This is just below the inflorescence.

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

bullet

leaves firm; NOT [leaves soft, slightly fleshy] 

bullet

leaves rigid 

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

bullet

leaves NOT rigid 

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

bullet

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.

bullet

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.
bullet

plants perennial; NOT [plants annual]

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

plants glabrous; NOT [plants glandular pubescent throughout]

bullet

plants NOT glandular-viscid

bullet

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]

bullet

basal leaves sessile; NOT [basal leaves petioled]

bullet

internodes long

bullet

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

bullet

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]

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

leaves keeled

bullet

leaves NOT thick (BF)

bullet

leaves glaucous

bullet

inflorescence cymose; NOT [inflorescence subumbellate]

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

capsule teeth erect; NOT [capsule teeth reflexed]

 

bullet

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.  
bullet

plants NOT with woody base

bullet

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]

bullet

corolla present

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

petals LACKING claws

bullet

styles usually 3; NOT [styles usually 5]

bullet

ovary NOT stipitate

bullet

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

bullet

capsule short; NOT [capsule long]

bullet

fruit dehiscent

bullet

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)

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

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

 
bullet

Caryophyllaceae:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family.
bullet

herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]

bullet

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

bullet

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

bullet

plants NOT with colored milky juice

bullet

plants with more than one normal leaf

bullet

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

bullet

leaves NOT glandular-dotted

bullet

plants WITHOUT large petal-like bracts

bullet

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

bullet

sepals more than 2; NOT [sepals 2]

bullet

stamens NOT united at base

bullet

styles 2 or more; NOT [styles single]