About Stellaria littoralis Torr.
Stellaria littoralis Torr. is a species of flowering plant in the Caryophyllaceae family, commonly known as beach starwort. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area and the North Coast of California, where it grows in moist coastal habitats including marshes, bogs, and coastal bluffs. This rhizomatous perennial herb grows sprawling, branching stems that are four-angled and hairy in texture, and reach up to roughly 60 centimeters in length. Its leaves are lance-shaped or pointed oval, oppositely arranged in pairs, and grow up to 4.5 centimeters long. Its inflorescence holds several flowers, each borne on a short pedicel. Each flower has five hairy, pointed green sepals, each a few millimeters long, and five white petals. Each petal is so deeply lobed that it appears to be two separate petals. This plant is similar to its Asian relative Stellaria dichotoma, and it may actually be a population of that species that was introduced to the California coast long ago.
