Lesser Stitchwort

Stellaria graminea

Caryophyllaceae

28th May 2020

I love that this little white flower is called Stellaria - from the Latin for star stella, and graminea - grass-like, referring to the appearance of the stems.

It’s really very tiny and quite unassuming, but grows in abundance so you might easily come across a whole patch of it gently scattered among the grasses. I like that the little green sepals can often be seen between the petals, giving the impression that every third petal is a pretty pea green colour. The stigma is yellow and the anthers a dark orange colour, creating a very satisfying, if diminutive arrangement. 

Collins ‘Perennial of open woodland, meadows and hedgerows, mainly on acid soils….FLOWER White, with deeply divided petals….LEAVES Long, narrow, smooth-edged and grass-like…. Note smooth edged stems’

It is the smallest flowered of all the stitchworts, and a magnifying glass is definitely recommended, it really is very small!

It’s larger sibling, Stellaria media, Chickweed seems to take the limelight and get written about far more often. I think the graminea is far prettier, so keep an eye out!  It flowers May through to August, so plenty of time to spot it.

Alice x