Cerastium texanum |
Cerastium fontanum |
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Chihuahuan mouse-ear chickweed, Texas chickweed, Texas mouse-ear chickweed |
common chickweed, common mouse-ear chickweed, céraiste commun, mouse-ear chickweed |
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Habit | Plants annual, with slender taproot and branched caudex. | Plants perennial (rarely annual), tufted to mat-forming, often rhizomatous. | ||||
Stems | erect, sparingly branched proximally, slender, 15–35 cm, sparsely glandular-pilose; small axillary tufts of leaves absent. |
flowering stems erect from decumbent base, branched proximally, 10–45 cm, softly pubescent, eglandular with straight hairs; nonflowering shoots, when present, produced proximally, decumbent, rooting at nodes, branched, 5–20 cm, often subglabrous with alternating lines of eglandular hairs; small axillary tufts of leaves usually absent. |
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Leaves | not marcescent; proximal blades broadly spatulate-petiolate, 8–55 × 3–16 mm, apex acute or obtuse, sometimes short-acuminate, softly pilose; cauline few, sessile, blade linear-lanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, 7–30 mm, apex acute, pilose. |
not marcescent; blade 10–25(–40) × 3–8(–12) mm, densely covered with patent to ascending, colorless, long, eglandular hairs; leaves of flowering shoots in distant pairs, sessile, blade elliptic to ovate-oblong, apex subacute; leaves of sterile shoots pseudopetiolate, often spatulate, blade oblanceolate, apex obtuse. |
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Inflorescences | very open and loose, 2–9(–25)-flowered cymes; bracts narrowly lanceolate, pilose. |
lax, 3–50-flowered cymes; bracts lanceolate, reduced, herbaceous, eglandular-pubescent, distal often with narrow, scarious margins. |
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Pedicels | straight, becoming sharply deflexed at base, slender, 5–20 mm, elongating in fruit, 1.5–4 times as long as sepals, glandular-pilose. |
somewhat curved distally, 2–10(–20) mm, longer than sepals, densely pubescent with patent, eglandular, rarely glandular hairs. |
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Flowers | sepals green, turning pale orange-brown in fruit, lanceolate to ovate, 3–6 mm, margins narrow, apex acute, with short, glandular pubescence; petals oblanceolate, 5–8 mm, 1.5–2 times as long as sepals, apex 2-fid; stamens 5; styles 5. |
sepals ovate-lanceolate, 5–7 mm, margins narrow, apex acute, scarious, pubescent with eglandular, rarely glandular, hairs; petals oblanceolate, 1–1.5 times as long as sepals, apex deeply 2-fid; stamens 10, occasionally 5; styles 5. |
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Capsules | cylindric, straight, 5–12 mm, 1.5–2 times as long as sepals; teeth 10, becoming outwardly coiled. |
narrowly cylindric, curved, 9–17 mm, ca. 2 times sepals; teeth 10, erect, margins convolute. |
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Seeds | red-brown, 0.4–0.7 mm diam., tuberculate; tubercles ± pointed; testa not inflated. |
reddish brown, 0.4–1.2 mm, bluntly tuberculate; testa not inflated, tightly enclosing seed. |
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2n | = 36. |
= 122–152, usually 144. |
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Cerastium texanum |
Cerastium fontanum |
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Phenology | Flowering spring. | |||||
Habitat | Canyons, sandy washes, oak woodlands, mountain pine forests | |||||
Elevation | 1200-2800 m (3900-9200 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; NM; Mexico
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AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Europe [Introduced elsewhere]
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Discussion | Cerastium texanum is exceptionally variable in flower and capsule size. The extent to which this variation is due to environmental conditions or is genic in origin is not known. The broad, spatulate basal leaves and the straight, cylindric capsule with its outwardly coiled (revolute) teeth distinguish this species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Subspecies 4 (2 in the flora). Cerastium fontanum is a highly variable and complex species. It often has been reported as C. vulgatum Linnaeus, an ambiguous name; see discussion under the genus. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 90. | FNA vol. 5. | ||||
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Alsinoideae > Cerastium | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Alsinoideae > Cerastium | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | C. longepedunculatum var. sordidum, C. sordidum, Stellaria montana | |||||
Name authority | Britton: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 15: 97. (1888) | Baumgarten: Enum. Stirp. Transsilv. 1: 425. (1816) | ||||
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