Family: Caryophyllaceae
Mongolian name:
English name: Greater stichwort
Collection Number: 2
Stellaria holostea (alternatively Rabelera holostea) is a small, white flower is a perennial rhizomatous geophyte that has five petals with a split in each petal that sometimes gives the impression of there being double the petals. The flowers are approximately 2-3 cm in diameter and white in color, and it belongs to the family Caryophyllaceae. While not explicitly used in Mongolian or Chinese medicine, Rabelera holostea has a long history of being used in Europe and Western Asia as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments. Related Stellaria species have documented histories within Mongolian medicine specifically. Chemical analysis has shown that it has both anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties, most notably when it is processed into extract form.
Citations
German, Dmitry, Wen‐Li Chen, Sergey Smirnov, Bing Liu, Maxim Kutsev, Jian Wang, Alexander Shmakov, and Rudolph Kamelin. 2012. “Plant genera and species new to China recently found in northwest Xinjiang.” Nordic Journal of Botany 30. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.2011.01341.x.
Greater Stitchwort (S. Holostea). Woodland Trust. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/greater-stitchwort/, accessed April 16, 2025.
“Stellaria pulvinata.” 2024. Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Accessed July 9. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:159423-1.
Reference Collection 