Matted Starwort - native (Stellaria caespitosa)

Family: Caryophyllaceae (Carnation family).

Native of south-east Australia.

Occurrence: Creek floodplains and swamplands.

Identification:

• it may form dense mats
• the stems are weak and trailing
• the leaves are stalkless, and about a centimetre long and less than a millimetre wide
• the leaves are in opposite pairs
• the fruit are about 3.5 x 1.5 mm
• the small white flowers have five petals.

Most Victorian records for Matted Starwort are for the Murray River area.

Photos: Matted Starwort. Harcourt North Reservoir.