big chickweed (Cerastium holosteoides) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Big chickweed is a low, hairy Eurasian plant found in lawns, roadsides, and pastures across much of the United States. Its small white flowers have five petals, each notched at the tip, so a flower can look as if it has ten. In North America, it is more often called common mouse-ear chickweed.

Appearance

Growth form: It is usually a low with spreading or rising stems and small nonflowering shoots near the base.
Leaves: Opposite, oval leaves have smooth edges and are usually covered with short hairs.
Flowers: Small white flowers have five petals, each notched at the tip, so a flower can look as if it has ten petals.
Flowering time: In North America it can flower throughout the growing season.
Fruit: The narrow fruit grows longer than the small leaflike parts beneath the flower. When ripe, its tip splits into ten small points and releases brown seeds.

Look-alikes

sticky mouse-ear chickweedCerastium glomeratum

Sticky mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium glomeratum) is usually an annual with flowers crowded at the stem tips. This plant is usually perennial, with looser flower clusters; the short flower stalks on sticky mouse-ear are another useful clue in a close photo.

Why they get mixed upBoth are small, hairy weeds with notched white petals.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: lawns
roadsides
pastures
waste ground
Range: It is native across much of temperate and subarctic Eurasia and widely in North America, including nearly every U.S. region. In the United States, it is often considered a lawn or roadside weed.
Preferred conditions: It commonly grows in grassy, open, or disturbed places from low elevations to mountain sites.

Growing it

Propagation: It spreads by seed and can persist from short leafy shoots at the base.

Name and classification

About the name: This plant has also been called Cerastium fontanum subsp. vulgare.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: The name mouse-ear refers to the small, softly hairy leaves.

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