Cerastium

Cerastium
Cerastium arvense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Cerastium
L.
Species

Over 200 - see text

Synonyms
List
  • Centunculus Adans.
  • Esmarchia Rchb.
  • Leucodonium Opiz
  • Myosotis Mill.
  • Prevotia Adans.
  • Pseudocerastium C.Y.Wu, X.H.Guo & X.P.Zhang

Cerastium is a genus of annual, winter annual, or perennial flowering plants belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae. They are commonly called mouse-ears or mouse-ear chickweeds. There are 214 accepted species,[1][2] found nearly worldwide but with the greatest concentration in the northern temperate regions. A number of the species are common weeds in fields and on disturbed ground.

Cerastium uniflorum
Cerastium tolucense

Cerastium species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora chalcogrammella (which feeds exclusively on Cerastium arvense) and Coleophora striatipennella (which has been recorded on Cerastium fontanum).

  1. ^ "Cerastium Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ Cerastium. Flora of North America.