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céraiste tomenteux, dusty miller, snow-in-summer, snow-in-summer chickweed, tomentose chickweed

common chickweed, common mouse-ear chickweed, céraiste commun, mouse-ear chickweed

Habit Plants perennial, mat-forming, rhizomatous. Plants perennial (rarely annual), tufted to mat-forming, often rhizomatous.
Stems

flowering stems ascending, branched, 15–40 cm; nonflowering stems prostrate proximally, rooting readily, pubescence dense, white-tomentose, eglandular; small axillary tufts of leaves often present.

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.

Leaves

not marcescent, sessile;

blade linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblong, 10–60 × 2–8 mm, apex ± obtuse, pubescence dense, whitish-tomentose, eglandular on both surfaces.

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.

Inflorescences

lax, 3–13-flowered cymes;

bracts lanceolate, margins scarious, pubescent.

lax, 3–50-flowered cymes;

bracts lanceolate, reduced, herbaceous, eglandular-pubescent, distal often with narrow, scarious margins.

Pedicels

ascending, straight, 10–40 mm, 2–7 times as long as sepals, white-tomentose.

somewhat curved distally, 2–10(–20) mm, longer than sepals, densely pubescent with patent, eglandular, rarely glandular hairs.

Flowers

12–20 mm diam.;

sepals narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, 5–7 mm, margins narrow, often scarious, apex acute, white-tomentose;

petals obtriangular, 10–18 mm, 2–2.5 times as long as sepals, apex 2-fid;

stamens 10;

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.

Capsules

cylindric, slightly curved, 10–15 mm, 1.5–2 times as long as sepals;

teeth 10, erect, margins convolute.

narrowly cylindric, curved, 9–17 mm, ca. 2 times sepals;

teeth 10, erect, margins convolute.

Seeds

brown, ca. 1.5 mm, round tubercles on margins, faces shallowly rugose;

testa not inflated.

reddish brown, 0.4–1.2 mm, bluntly tuberculate;

testa not inflated, tightly enclosing seed.

2n

= 72.

= 122–152, usually 144.

Cerastium tomentosum

Cerastium fontanum

Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat A commonly grown rock-garden and wall plant, often escaping onto roadsides, riverbanks, old fields
Elevation 0-400 m (0-1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ME; MI; MT; NC; NE; NY; OH; OR; PA; WA; WI; WY; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; se Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
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]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cerastium tomentosum hybridizes readily with the introduced C. arvense subsp. arvense (J. K. Morton 1973).

North American reports of Cerastium biebersteinii de Candolle all appear to be referable to C. tomentosum. The two species are very similar, but C. biebersteinii has flat capsule teeth and is diploid (2n = 36); see M. K. Khalaf and C. A. Stace (2001).

(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.)

Key
1. Inflorescences never glandular; petals 1.3-1.5 times as long as sepals; capsules 11-17 mm; seeds 0.9-1.2 mm
subsp. fontanum
1. Inflorescences occasionally viscid-glandular; petals equaling sepals; capsules 9-13 mm; seeds 0.4-0.9 mm
subsp. vulgare
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 91. FNA vol. 5.
Parent taxa Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Alsinoideae > Cerastium Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Alsinoideae > Cerastium
Sibling taxa
C. aleuticum, C. alpinum, C. arcticum, C. arvense, C. axillare, C. beeringianum, C. bialynickii, C. brachypetalum, C. brachypodum, C. cerastoides, C. dichotomum, C. diffusum, C. dubium, C. fastigiatum, C. fischerianum, C. fontanum, C. glomeratum, C. maximum, C. nutans, C. pumilum, C. regelii, C. semidecandrum, C. terrae-novae, C. texanum, C. velutinum, C. viride
C. aleuticum, C. alpinum, C. arcticum, C. arvense, C. axillare, C. beeringianum, C. bialynickii, C. brachypetalum, C. brachypodum, C. cerastoides, C. dichotomum, C. diffusum, C. dubium, C. fastigiatum, C. fischerianum, C. glomeratum, C. maximum, C. nutans, C. pumilum, C. regelii, C. semidecandrum, C. terrae-novae, C. texanum, C. tomentosum, C. velutinum, C. viride
Subordinate taxa
C. fontanum subsp. fontanum, C. fontanum subsp. vulgare
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 440. (1753) Baumgarten: Enum. Stirp. Transsilv. 1: 425. (1816)
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