Cerastium arvense L. ssp. strictum Gaudin

Locations ofCerastium arvense L. ssp. strictum Gaudin in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Caryophyllaceae
Botanical Name
Cerastium arvense L. ssp. strictum Gaudin
Common Name
Field Chickweed
Synonym(s)
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Not in Flora of Virginia
Comments
Both FNA and the Flora of New England note the remarkable variability of both taxa (ssp. arvense and ssp. strictum) in the Cerastium arvense complex, and the difficulties of distinguishing them. The single Virginia specimen (at LYN) is thought to be the only possible source of the FNA attribution of var. strictum to Virginia. However, the specimen is labelled only to species, and has not been examined by contemporary Virginia botanists. Collected from a road bank in a high-elevation area of the central Blue Ridge, the specimen has linear leaves and is definitely either Cerastium arvense var. arvense or var. strictum, but the resolution of the SERNEC image is insufficient for examining or measuring critical characters. An in-person, microscopic examination is needed and will hopefully be done in the near future. Given all the difficulties involved, following FNA's varietal treatment seems most prudent, at least for now.
Habitat
Reported from banks along the Blue Ridge Parkway on Apple Orchard Mountain, Bedford Co. Rare, mountains (Northern Blue Ridge province).
Native Status
Native

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