Schizotechium (Fenzl.) Reichenbach (1841: 205) emend. Pusalkar & S.K. Srivast.

Pusalkar, Prashant K. & Srivastava, S. K., 2016, The genus Schizotechium (Caryophyllaceae) resurrected, Phytotaxa 252 (1), pp. 81-84 : 82

Schizotechium (Fenzl.) Reichenbach (1841: 205) emend. Pusalkar & S.K. Srivast.

Bas.: Stellaria sect. Schizotechium Fenzl (1833: 13) .

Generitype:— Stellaria crispata Wallich ex D. Don (1825: 215) .

Description:— Perennial herbs, weak, sub-scandent, rarely sub-erect; root tuberous or thick, fleshy. Stem simple or branched, 4-angled, glabrous to pubecent all over or with pubescent lines of jointed ciliate hairs; basal nodes sometimes with few fibrous roots. Leaves opposite, sessile, sub-sessile or shortly petioled; stem base and lowermost nodes with normal or sometimes with scale-like blade-less leaves; blade lanceolate, oblanceolate, ovate, elliptic or obovate, acute to acuminate, glabrous or pubescent. Flowers white, arranged in many-flowered compounds cymes forming terminal, large glandular-ciliate panicle. Sepals 5, lanceolate, usually glandular-ciliate, margins narrowly to broadly membranous. Petals 5, white, 1/4 th to slightly shorter than sepal, 2-lobed for more than 1/3 to nearly up to the base. Disc simple or 5-lobed, with or without nectar glands at the base of alterni-petalous (opposite-sepalous) filaments. Stamens 5 or 10, all of equal length or 5+5 (alternately 5 long filaments and 5 short filaments). Styles (2–)3. Ovary oblong-ovoid to globose, 1-locular; ovules 3. Capsule about as long as the sepals, 6-toothed; central collumella almost absent; seed 1–2, sub-orbicular to sub-reniform, wrinkled, rugose or reticulate.

Number of species: ―Three species in the Himalayan area, one ( Stellaria paniculata Edgew. ) extended to south-east and east Asia [ Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam]. 1200–3800 m elevation. Three additional taxa, the Sino-Nepalese Stellaria ovatifolia (M. Mizushima 1955: 42) M. Mizushima (1966: 259) (≡ Brachystemma ovatifolium M. Mizushima 1955: 42 ) ( Press et al. 2000, Shilong & Rabeler 2001), the Sino-Asian S. monosperma var. japonica Maximowicz (1873: 384) ( Shilong & Rabeler 2001) and the Sri Lankan S. drymarioides Thwaites (1858: 24) ( Edgeworth & Hooker, 1872) possibly belong here. However, since we have not examined any herbarium material and due to lack of field study, we prefer to avoid here new combinations.

A diagnostic key for the accepted species follows:

1. Leaves petioled; panicle irregularly branched; flowers 2–3 mm long, as across; adjoining filaments conspicuously fused ............. ..................................................................................................................................................................................... S. paniculatum

- Leaves sessile or sub-sessile; inflorescence simply or 2 or 3-chotomously branched panicle; flowers 3–8 mm long, as across; adjoining filaments not or slightly fused............................................................................................................................................... 2

2 Lower leaves oblanceolate or obovate; floral disc 5-lobed with 5 prominent nectar glands at opposite-sepalous filament base; petal lamina lobed for more than ½ to 4/5 ............................................................................................................................. S. devendrae

- All leaves lanceolate; floral disc not lobed, without prominent nectar glands; petal lamina lobed for 1/3–1/2 .... S. monospermum