Cerastium arvense
Cerastium pumilum
céraiste des champs, field chickweed, field mouse-ear chickweed, field or prairie mouse-ear chickweed, meadow chickweed, starry cerastium
dwarf mouse-ear, dwarf mouse-ear chickweed, European chickweed, sticky mouse-ear chickweed
flowering shoots often decumbent proximally, 5–20(–30) cm, glandular-pubescent distally, pilose-subglabrous, deflexed or spreading proximally;
non-flowering shoots present; small tufts of leaves present in axils of proximal leaves.
erect or ascending, branching near base, 2–12 cm, covered with glandular and eglandular hairs; small axillary tufts of leaves usually absent.
not marcescent, sessile, ± spatulate proximally;
blade linear-lanceolate to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, 4–30 × 0.5–6 mm, apex acute, rarely obtuse, subglabrous to softly pubescent, sometimes glandular.
not marcescent, sessile;
blade 5–15 × 3–6 mm, hairy;
basal with blades oblanceolate, spatulate, petiolelike, apex obtuse;
cauline with blades lanceolate, elliptic, or ovate, apex acute to obtuse.
lax, 1–20-flowered cymes, pubescence short, glandular;
bracts lanceolate, margins narrow, scarious, glandular-pubescent.
lax, 3–15-flowered (rarely more) cymes;
bracts lanceolate: proximal usually foliaceous, distal smaller, usually with narrow, scarious margins and apex, glandular-pubescent.
curved just below calyx, 5–30 mm, 1–6 times as long as sepals, glandular-pubescent.
erect, curved distally, 3–8(–10) mm, longer than capsule, glandular-pubescent.
sepals narrowly lanceolate to lance-elliptic, 3.5–7 mm, margins narrow, softly pubescent;
petals obovate, 7.5–12.5 mm, ca. 2 times as long as sepals, apex 2-fid;
stamens 10;
anthers 0.8–1.1 mm;
styles 5.
sepals green, sometimes red tipped, oblong-lanceolate, 4–5 mm, margins narrow, apex acute, pubescent, hairs short, stiff, glandular, not projecting beyond scarious, glabrous apex;
petals white or purple-tinged, with branching veins, oblanceolate, ca. 5 mm, ± equaling sepals, apex 2-fid for ca. 1/4 length;
stamens 5;
styles 5.
cylindric, curved, 7.5–11.5 × 2.5–4 mm, (1–)1.5–2 times as long as sepals;
teeth 10, erect, margins convolute.
narrowly cylindric, slightly curved upward, 6–9 mm, ca. 2 times as long as sepals;
teeth 10, erect, margins convolute.
brown, 0.6–1.2 mm diam., tuberculate;
testa not inflated.
dark brown, deltoid, 0.6–0.7 mm, tuberculate;
testa not inflated.
= 36, 72, (108, Europe).
= 72.
Cerastium arvense
Cerastium pumilum
Subspecies 2+ (2 in the flora).
The infraspecific taxonomy of Cerastium arvense is subject to many different interpretations. While many subspecies have been recognized, the “actual” number is uncertain because of worldwide distribution, wide range of variation, and conflicting taxonomies.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
North American material referred to here as Cerastium pumilum is very variable. At one extreme are plants resembling small annual forms of C. fontanum, with relatively short, broad capsules, petals slightly longer than the sepals, and sepals that are usually red at the tips. At the other extreme are plants with relatively long, narrow capsules resembling impoverished diffuse-inflorescenced C. glomeratum, with short petals and no red pigment. The latter are probably referable to C. pumilum subsp. glutinosum. B. Jonsell and T. Karlsson (2001+, vol. 2) treated C. glutinosum as a distinct species in Scandinavia, but the correlation of characters that they gave to distinguish C. glutinosum from C. pumilum does not occur in most North American material that I have examined. Hence, the recognition of a single species, possibly with two subspecies, as in Flora Europaea (T. G. Tutin et al. 1964–1980, vol. 1), appears to be more appropriate. The problem may arise from North American material having been introduced from several sources, whereas Scandinavian material may consist of two native genotypes that do not show the complete range of variation in the species.
Cerastium pumilum can look like a small annual form of C. fontanum but differs in its smaller capsules and the characteristic rather short, glandular hairs on the sepals, bracts, and inflorescence. It can be separated from C. semidecandrum by the much narrower scarious margins of the sepals and bracts and by the branching veins in the petals, which tend to be slightly longer and more conspicuous than in C. semidecandrum. Some forms of C. glomeratum have a very open inflorescence and may be confused with C. pumilum, but C. glomeratum has ten stamens, a narrower capsule, all the bracts herbaceous, and long, eglandular hairs (often mixed with glandular ones) on the bracts and sepals.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Taproot absent, plant strongly rhizomatous with long-creeping shoots; flowering stems usually 25-30 cm, often purple pigmented proximally, pubescence eglandular (glandular hairs present in inflorescence), soft, short or subglabrous; sepals 5-7 mm; anthers 1-1.1 mm; petals usually turning brown when dried | subsp. arvense |
1. Taprooted or shortly rhizomatous, forming clumps; flowering stems usually 5-20 cm, green or straw colored, glandular-pubescent; sepals 3.5-6(-7) mm; anthers 0.8-0.9 mm; petals usually remaining white when dried | subsp. strictum |
- Local floras:
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OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
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MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
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WildflowerSearch
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- Local floras: BC, OR, WA
- Local Web sites: Flora NW, Go Botany,
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria - WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
