Wildflower - Starflower

I was walking through the wooded area of our West Hill property and found a large area covered with Starflowers plants. This is a very low plant with an erect stem about 2-8" tall that has a whorl of 5-9 leaves at its apex. One to three 1/2 inch white flowers develop from the center of the whorled leaves.



The Starflower is unusual because it typically has 7-petaled flowers and 7 leaves to the plant. While 7 petals are the most common, the plant can have 5 to 9 petals. The top two flowers in this photo both have 8 petals. While the Starflower is one of the more common spring wildflowers in eastern North America, it is listed as Endangered in Georgia and Kentucky, and listed as Threatened in Tennessee and Illinois.