Mouse-ear Chickweed
Cerastium glomeratum
Caryophyllaceae
Reported uses include medicinal and edible.
Mouse-ear chickweed is a common weed of lawns, gardens, footpaths, pastures, disturbed sites, waste areas and crops. Mouse-ear chickweed is an annual herb with branched, hairy stems up to 45 centimeters in length. The hairy leaves are 2 or 3 centimeters long, while the small flowers have five hairy green sepals, and five white two-lobed petals. It forms a slender taproot. Fruit is a capsule 6-10mm long. Cerastium species are capable of both cross and self pollination. It tolerates a range of soil types and commonly grows in potting media.
The nectar and pollen of C. glomeratum attract small bees, flies and some moth species (www.brickfieldspark.org). Bombus pensylvanicus has also been reported visiting flowers. Cheilosia capillata (Scar-horned blacklet - type of syrphid fly) is a reported pollinator (globalbioticinteractions.org). Assocations include Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), Thrips palmi, Beet mosaic potyvirus (BtMV), Ralstonia solanacearum bacterium and Impatiens necrotic spot virus (Okuda). Other associations include Septoria cerastii (leaf spot), Peronospora alsinearum, P. conferta, P. tomentosa, Ustilago duriaeana and Fabraea cerastiorum (Discover Life).