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Mouseear Chickweed

Cerastium holosteoides (ser-RAS-tee-um hol-os-tee-OY-deez)

Family: Caryophyllaceae Unknown Herbaceous (1-3 ft)

Mouseear chickweed is a cool-season annual or short-lived perennial in the Caryophyllaceae (carnation) family. Native from temperate and subarctic Eurasia to New Guinea. It grows rapilidy to 1 foot tall and wide. It grows in full sun in moist, sandy, loam or even heavy clay soils. Distinctly hairy stems and leaves are dark green in color. The flowers are very similar to common chickweed, white with 5 split petals. Mouseear chickweed forms dense mats and may climb into crop canopies. Plants are prolific seeders. Seedlings emerge primarily from fall through spring, but in cooler, moist areas may continue to emerge throughout the summer. Well managed by most preemergence herbicides labeled for use. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Brown spot, root rot, powdery mildew, fungal lef spots and rusts. Pests include aphids, spider mites, slugs and snails, mealybugs and whiteflies.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 35 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Often confused with Stellaria media

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Annual; Weed
Life cycle
Annual
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Sand
Soil drainage
Moist
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 3 in. - 1 ft. 0 in. | Width: 0 ft. 3 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Soft
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves are hairy, dark green in color, opposite and bluntly pointed
Flower color
White
Flower detail
Flowers are very similar to common chickweed, white with 5 split petals
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Hairy stems
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Landscape Use
Garden tags
#annual weed #fast growing #clay soils tolerant #hairy stems #cool season weed #hairy leaves #high maintenance #weedy #full sun
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Mealybugs; Slugs & Snails on Ornamental Plants
Problems
Weedy
Propagation
Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.