E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Cerastium pumilum W. Curtis
dwarf mouse-ear (European chickweed)
Caryophyllaceae (Pink family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Cerastium pumilum
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Cerastium pumilum ssp. glutinosum

Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems ascending to erect, glandular and soft-hairy, 2-12 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal and lower stem leaves egg-shaped to elliptic, 4-7 mm long, unstalked to short-stalked; stem leaves opposite, several pairs, egg-shaped to oblong, unstalked; stipules absent.

Flowers:
Inflorescence several in loose, bracted clusters, the bracts with wax-papery tips and margins; petals 5, deeply 2-cleft, 2.5-3 mm long, with branching veins; sepals 5, broadly lanceolate, pointed, 2.5-3 mm long, with narrow, wax-papery margins.

Fruits:
Capsules, cylindric, straight at maturity, 4-7 mm long, 10-valved; seeds brown, 0.2-0.4 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry open, grassy sites in the lowland zone; frequent in SW BC; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Caryophyllaceae
Flora North America treatment for Cerastium pumilum
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-17 5:40:37 AM ]

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