Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Stellaria irrigua [Stellaria umbellata] [Alsine baicalensis] [Stellaria weberi]
Family
Caryophyllaceae
CommonName
umbrella starwort, Altai starwort
Presence
YES
Status
native
EarliestDate
1900
LatestDate
2018
Ecosystem
montane, subalpine, tundra
Geobotanical
SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, NCristos
Counties
Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan
Passes
Cumbres, Medano, Stony, Wolf Creek
WildlifePreserves
Other Localities
Comments
In the Watershed, the distinctive Stellaria irrigua (in the past known as Stellaria umbellata) is most commonly collected from spruce-fir subalpine woods, less often from alpine fellfields and meadows. Typically the tundra plants are much smaller than the lower-elevation ones. The species occurs in both the east and west mountain ranges of the Valley. It follows the Rio Grande down through New Mexico as far as the Sacramento Mountains (but not farther down stream). The New Mexico locations mark the southeastern-most corner of the USA distribution, which is all states west of the Great Plains. Note that S. irrigua has flowers terminal and umbellate, usually with no petals; S. sanjuanensis has petaled flowers in the upper leaf axils. Note also that the name Stellaria irrigua is assigned through historical priority (see Sharples and Tripp 2019), and that this revision has not yet been accepted by FNA or BONAP.