Stellaria cherleriae (Fisch. ex Ser.) F. N. Williams

Herbs perennial, pubescent with curved hairs. Stems tufted, erect or ascending, 5--12(--18) cm tall, base usually woody, basally branched; short axillary sterile branches present. Leaves subsessile, linear or linear-oblanceolate, (0.7--)1--2(--2.5) cm × 1--2.5 mm, both surfaces glabrous, lower margin pubescent, base narrowed, apex acute. Flowers few, in terminal cymes; bracts lanceolate, ca. 4 × 1.2 mm, herbaceous, glabrous, margin membranous, apex acute. Pedicel slightly longer than sepals, ca. 1 cm, distally sparsely pubescent. Sepals 5, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 5 × 1--1.5 mm, midvein raised, base sparsely pubescent, margin membranous, apex acute. Petals 5, 1/3--1/2 as long as sepals, 2-cleft nearly to base; lobes linear. Stamens 10, ca. 1/2 as long as petals; anthers yellow, compressed globose. Capsule obovoid, ca. 1/2 as long as persistent sepals. Seeds 2, nearly black, ellipsoid-obovoid, 1--1.5 mm in diam., tuberculate. Fl. Jun--Jul, fr. Jul--Aug.

Hebei, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shanxi.

* Stony slopes, steppes, forests; 2800--3400 m.

Arenaria cherleriae Fischer ex Seringe in de Candolle, Prodr. 1: 409. 1824; Stellaria petraea Bunge var. fasciculata Bunge ex Turczaninow; S. petraea var. vegeta Fenzl; S. viridiflora Pax & K. Hoffmann.