Caryophyllaceae
Holosteum

Holosteum umbellatum L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 88 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Europe to Xinjiang and Ethiopia, NW. Africa. It is an annual and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Edmondson, J. R (Eds). (2016) Flora of Iraq, Volume 5 Part 1: Elatinaceae to Sphenocleaceae.

Morphology General Habit
Annual herbs
Morphology Stem
Stems erect to ascending, 5–25(–30) cm, glaucous, glabrous or glandular hairy, sometimes eglandular hairs present
Morphology Leaves
Leaves glabrous; basal leaves spatulate to linear, acute at apex; upper ones linear to ovate, sessile
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence 2–16-flowered
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels 3–18 mm, glabrous to glandular hairy, erect at first, soon becoming sharply deflexed, erect or deflexed in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 4–5 mm, ovate, glabrous or glandular
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals white as long as or longer than sepals
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens (2–)3–5
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule ± exceeding the sepals
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds tuberculate.
Ecology
Limestone slopes, open places, road sides; alt. 160–2000 m;
Phenology
Flowering:Apr.–May.
Distribution
Widespread in northern Iraq. Europe, Mediterranean region to Pakistan.
[FIQ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Iraq

    • Ghazanfar, S. A., Edmondson, J. R. (Eds). (2013-2019). Flora of Iraq, Volumes 5.1, 5.2 and 6.0. Kew Publishing
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images