Stellaria pungens

Perennial with rhizomes, often rooting at the nodes, curly white hairs sparse to glabrous on older growth, medium-dense on new growth; stems creeping, prostrate to erect, branched from base, 11–60 cm long. Leaves sessile, narrowly ovate, 4–12 mm long, 1–3 mm wide, apex acute and pungent, margin sparsely ciliate for three-quarters of length. Flowers solitary and axillary or in a terminal interrupted monochasium; fruiting pedicel erect, (3–)8–30(–37) mm long; sepals (5–)5.5–9.5(–10) mm long, glabrous or with a few multicellular hairs at base and margin, apex acute and pungent, margin sparsely ciliate for three-quarters of length, rarely entire; petals 5, c. equal to sepals; stamens 10. Capsule (5–)6–9 mm long, 3–4 mm diam., less than or equal to sepals; valves straight or slightly recurved at apex; seeds (5–)6–16(–18), 1–1.6 (–1.8) mm long, mustard to light brown or ruby-red, tubercles medium to high, rounded, flattened. Flowers Oct.–Feb.