Whitesnow

Contrary to J. A. Duke (1961), it appears best to consider Drymaria cordata as introduced in North America. The earliest collections were made in Florida in the early 1900s.

This species is used medicinally and is a widely distributed, noxious weed.

Plants annual. Stems straggling, sometimes subscandent, usually rooting at lower nodes, 60--90 cm, mostly glabrous, minutely papillose toward inflorescence. Stipules membranous, splitting into few whitish setae. Petiole poorly defined, 3--7 mm; leaf blade ovate-cordate, (0.5--)1--3(--3.5) × 0.6--3 cm, prominently 3--5-veined from base. Bracts lanceolate, scarious. Pedicel 3--5 mm, slender, glandular hairy. Sepals lanceolate-ovate, 2--3.5(--5) mm, margin membranous, 3-veined, glandular hairy, apex subacute. Petals white, obovate-cuneate, ca. 2.5 mm, deeply 2-cleft; segments narrow, apex ± acute. Stamens 2--3(--5), shorter than sepals. Styles 3, connate at base. Capsule ovoid, (1.5--)2--3 mm in diam., 3-valved. Seed dark brown, suborbicular, ca. 1.5 mm, regularly densely tuberculate. Fl. Apr--Oct, fr. Jun--Dec.

Africa, America, naturalised in India, Pacific Is.

Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [native to Central and South America].

2200-4300 m

Damp shaded sites, often near streams or under shrubs, disturbed areas; 200--1900(--2400) m.

Holosteum cordatum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 88. 1753

Holosteum cordatum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 88. 1753; Dry-maria cordata subsp. diandra (Blume) J. A. Duke; D. diandra Blume.

Drymaria cordata, the tropical chickweed, West Indian chickweed, or golondrina, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to moist habitats in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, and has been introduced to many places in the tropics and subtropics, including the southeast US, the Caribbean, the Indian Subcontinent, southern China, Japan, and a number of islands. It is known as one of the most aggressive weeds of the tropical and subtropical parts of the world.