Pretty, star-like and abundant along hedgerows. These plants have an explosive seed-dispersal mechanism. Disturb a large patch of them in summer and they go off like fireworks.
Common name(s): greater stitchwort, adder’s meat, star of Bethlehem, snapdragon, daddy’s shirt buttons, headaches, stinkwort, wedding cakes, milkmaids, brassy buttons
Scientific name: Stellaria holostea
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Origin: native
Flowering season: April to June
Habitat: deciduous woodland, roadside verges, hedgerows
Greater stitchwort is in the carnation family. It has white flowers and can reach up to 50cm in height.
Leaves: green, thin, stalkless and grass-like
Flowers: five white petals, each of which is split half-way. This often gives the appearance of 10 petals. The flowers are usually 2–3cm in diameter. They have an explosive seed-dispersal mechanism. In late spring, when the seed capsules ripen, they can be heard popping as they noisily fire their seeds.
Not to be confused with: lesser stitchwort (Stellaria graminea), its much smaller relative. Lesser stitchwort’s flowers are just 0.5–1cm in diameter.
Greater stitchwort’s seed capsules make a loud popping sound when ripe, which is why some people call it ‘popguns’ and ‘poppers’.
Greater stitchwort can be found across the UK, with swathes of these flowers appearing along roadside verges, in deciduous woodland and in hedgerows during the spring.
Credit: Richard Becker / Alamy Stock Photo
Greater stitchwort is beneficial to many flying insects, including bees and butterflies (like this orange-tip), which are in search of nectar during the spring. It is also the food plant of several moths.
Credit: Ray Wilson / Alamy Stock Photo
This plant was once used as a herbal remedy for a stitch (the pain sometimes felt in the side during exercise), hence the name ‘stitchwort’. It has also been called the ‘poor man’s buttonhole’, presumably because it was once used as a buttonhole.
It is also known as ‘snapdragon’ because its stem snaps easily.
Some say that if you pick greater stitchwort, you will cause a thunderstorm. In Cornwall it was believed that greater stitchwort was the property of the pixies, and picking it would anger them – often resulting in said pixies enchanting you.
