Rabelera holostea, known asgreater stitchwort,greater starwort,[1] andaddersmeat,[2] is a perennial herbaceousflowering plant in the familyCaryophyllaceae. It was formerly placed in the genusStellaria, asStellaria holostea, but was transferred to the genusRabelera in 2019 based on phylogenetic analyses.[3][4][5][6] It is the only species in the genusRabelera. Greater stitchwort is native toWestern andCentral Europe, including theBritish Isles.
Greater stichwort can be found in woodlands, edges, and open fields[7] and is sometimes grown in gardens.[8]
Greater stitchwort can grow up to 60 cm (24 in) in height, with roughly 4-angled stems. The long, narrow (lanceolate) leaves are greyish green, hairless, sessile, opposite, anddecussate (the successive pairs borne at right angles to each other).[9]: 460 [10]: 90 [11]
The flowers are white, 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) across, with five petals split to about halfway the length of the petal. The sepals are much shorter than the petals.[11][12]
The specific epithet holostea comes from theGreekholosteon, meaning 'entire bone'; a reference to the brittleness of the weak stems of this plant.[13][citation needed]
The common name stitchwort is a reference to a herbal remedy in which this plant is used allegedly to cureside stitch, which afflicts many people when they try to run without stretching first.[14] Other common names forRabelera holostea include: daddy's-shirt-buttons, poor-man's buttonhole, brassy buttons, wedding cakes, star-of-Bethlehem, and snapdragon.[8][7] Many of these names are in reference to the stems, which easily break.[8]
^Sharples, Mathew T.; Tripp, Erin A. (14 December 2019). "Phylogenetic Relationships Within and Delimitation of the Cosmopolitan Flowering Plant Genus Stellaria L. (Caryophyllaceae): Core Stars and Fallen Stars".Systematic Botany.44 (4):857–876.doi:10.1600/036364419X15710776741440.S2CID208176757.
^Weakley, Alan S. (2020),Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
^Stace, C. A. (2010).New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521707725.
^Blamey, M.; Fitter, R.; Fitter, A (2003).Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora. London: A & C Black.ISBN978-1408179505.
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