Short Description
The sticky mouse-ear chickweed can grow up to 40 cm high.
The leaves are opposite each other on the stem. They are elliptic to ovate. They are pale to almost yellow-green and slightly hairy.
The stem is also yellow-green and slightly hairy.
The flowers consist of five white petals that are split at the upper edge. They are more or less sessile and are grouped close together in a cluster (fascicle).
The fruit is a small, curved capsule tipped with teeth.
Features
Sticky mouse-ear chickweed
Cerastium glomeratum
split petals
flowers in a cluster (fascicle)
In the city
As an arable crop companion, the sticky mouse-ear chickweed grows particularly frequently in fields. However, it can also be found on rubble, dry grassland and roadsides. It prefers moist, nutrient-rich, calcareous, sandy or pure loam and clay soils.
Fun Facts
The flowering period is from March to September.
It is a one to two year old plant. This means that a plant lives for one or two years, but flowers only once and dies after the seeds have ripened.
The flowers are pollinated by insects.
The capsule bursts open in dry conditions and the seeds are blown out and spread by the wind.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
The sticky mouse-ear chickweed is originally found in Europe, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and West Asia.
The scientific name Cerastium comes from the Greek and means "horned". It refers to the horn-like capsule fruit. The word glomeratum means " clustered " in Latin and describes the inflorescence.
Sources
Habitus, Harry Rose, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cerastium_glomeratum_plant10_(14975975017).jpg
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Blütenstand, Jean Tosti, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cerastium_glomeratum1.jpg
Habitus, Harry Rose, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cerastium_glomeratum_plant6_(12095239064).jpg
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Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Page „Knäuel-Hornkraut“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 27.08.2017, 19:28 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kn%C3%A4uel-Hornkraut&oldid=168537711 (Accessed: 04.01.2018).
Bundesamt für Naturschutz (n.d.) Artensteckbriefe, URL: http://floraweb.de/pflanzenarten/artenhome.xsql?suchnr=1453& (Accessed: 04.01.2018).