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, 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 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).

Species

The following species in the genus Cerastium have been described:

• Cerastium afromontanum

• Cerastium akiyoshiense

• Cerastium aleuticum – Aleutian chickweed

• Cerastium alexeenkoanum

• Cerastium alpinum – alpine chickweed

• Cerastium alsinifolium

• Cerastium amanum

• Cerastium andinum

• Cerastium apuanum

• Cerastium arabidis

• Cerastium araraticum

• Cerastium arcticum – arctic mouse-ear chickweed

• Cerastium argenteum

• Cerastium argentinum

• Cerastium armeniacum

• Cerastium arvense – field chickweed

• Cerastium atlanticum

• Cerastium axillare – Trans-Pecos chickweed

• Cerastium azerbaijanicum

• Cerastium azoricum

• Cerastium baischanense

• Cerastium banaticum

• Cerastium barberi

• Cerastium beeringianum – Bering chickweed

• Cerastium behmianum

• Cerastium bialynickii

• Cerastium biebersteinii – boreal chickweed

• Cerastium × blyttii

• Cerastium boissierianum

• Cerastium borisii

• Cerastium brachypetalum – gray chickweed

• Cerastium brachypodum – shortstalk chickweed

• Cerastium brevicarpicum

• Cerastium × brueggerianum

• Cerastium bulgaricum

• Cerastium cacananense

• Cerastium candicans

• Cerastium candidissimum

• Cerastium capense

• Cerastium capillatum

• Cerastium carinthiacum

• Cerastium caucasicum

• Cerastium chlorifolium

• Cerastium comatum

• Cerastium commersonianum

• Cerastium consanguineum

• Cerastium crassipes

• Cerastium crassiusculum

• Cerastium cuatrecasasii

• Cerastium cuchumatanense

• Cerastium cylindricum

• Cerastium dagestanicum

• Cerastium danguyi

• Cerastium davuricum

• Cerastium decalvans

• Cerastium deschatresii

• Cerastium dichotomum – forked chickweed

• Cerastium dicrotrichum

• Cerastium diffusum – fourstamen chickweed

• Cerastium dinaricum

• Cerastium dominici

• Cerastium elbrusense

• Cerastium elongatum

• Cerastium emesenum

• Cerastium eriophorum

• Cerastium falcatum

• Cerastium fastigiatum

• Cerastium filifolium

• Cerastium fischerianum – Fischer's chickweed

• Cerastium floccosum

• Cerastium fontanum – common mouse-ear chickweed

• Cerastium fragillimum

• Cerastium furcatum – Korean mouse-ear chickweed

• Cerastium gibraltaricum

• Cerastium glabratum

• Cerastium glomeratum – sticky chickweed

• Cerastium gnaphalodes

• Cerastium gracile – slender chickweed

• Cerastium grandiflorum

• Cerastium guatemalense

• Cerastium haussknechtii

• Cerastium hekuravense

• Cerastium hemschinicum

• Cerastium hieronymi

• Cerastium hintoniorum

• Cerastium holosteoides – common mouse-ear chickweed

• Cerastium huadingense

• Cerastium humifusum

• Cerastium ibukiense

• Cerastium igoschiniae

• Cerastium illyricum

• Cerastium imbricatum

• Cerastium inflatum

• Cerastium jiuhuashanense

• Cerastium julicum

• Cerastium junceum

• Cerastium juniperorum

• Cerastium kasbek

• Cerastium krylovii

• Cerastium kunthii

• Cerastium lacaitae

• Cerastium × laestadianum

• Cerastium lanceolatum

• Cerastium latifolium

• Cerastium lazicum

• Cerastium ligusticum

• Cerastium limprichtii

• Cerastium lineare

• Cerastium lithospermifolium

• Cerastium longifolium

• Cerastium macranthum

• Cerastium macrocalyx

• Cerastium madagascariense

• Cerastium madrense

• Cerastium malyi

• Cerastium maximum – great chickweed

• Cerastium meridense

• Cerastium meyerianum

• Cerastium microspermum

• Cerastium moesiacum

• Cerastium mollissimum

• Cerastium morrisonense

• Cerastium mucronatum

• Cerastium multiflorum

• Cerastium nanhutashanense

• Cerastium nanum

• Cerastium nemorale

• Cerastium neoscardicum

• Cerastium nigrescens – Shetland mouse-ear chickweed

• Cerastium novoguinense

• Cerastium nutans – nodding chickweed

• Cerastium obovatum

• Cerastium octandrum

• Cerastium odessanum

• Cerastium oreades

• Cerastium orithales

• Cerastium × oxoniense

• Cerastium papuanum

• Cerastium parvipetalum

• Cerastium parvum

• Cerastium pauciflorum

• Cerastium pedunculare

• Cerastium pedunculatum

• Cerastium perfoliatum

• Cerastium peruvianum

• Cerastium pisidicum

• Cerastium polymorphum

• Cerastium ponticum

• Cerastium porphyrii

• Cerastium pospichalii

• Cerastium × pseudalpinum

• Cerastium pumilum – European chickweed

• Cerastium purpurascens

• Cerastium purpusii

• Cerastium pusillum

• Cerastium qingliangfengicum

• Cerastium ramigerum

• Cerastium ramosissimum

• Cerastium rectum

• Cerastium regelii – Regel's chickweed

• Cerastium × richardsonii

• Cerastium rivulare

• Cerastium rivulariastrum

• Cerastium ruderale

• Cerastium runemarkii

• Cerastium saccardoanum

• Cerastium scaposum

• Cerastium scaranii

• Cerastium schizopetalum

• Cerastium schmalhausenii

• Cerastium selloi

• Cerastium semidecandrum – five-stamen chickweed

• Cerastium siculum

• Cerastium sinaloense

• Cerastium sinicum

• Cerastium smolikanum

• Cerastium soleirolii

• Cerastium soratense

• Cerastium sosnowskyi

• Cerastium spathulatum

• Cerastium subciliatum

• Cerastium subpilosum

• Cerastium subspicatum

• Cerastium subtetrandrum

• Cerastium subtriflorum – Slovenian mouse-ear chickweed

• Cerastium sugawarae

• Cerastium supramontanum

• Cerastium sventenii

• Cerastium sylvaticum

• Cerastium × symei

• Cerastium szechuense

• Cerastium szowitsii

• Cerastium takasagomontanum

• Cerastium taschkendicum

• Cerastium tatrae

• Cerastium terrae-novae – Newfoundland mouse-ear chickweed

• Cerastium texanum – Texas chickweed

• Cerastium theophrasti

• Cerastium thomasii

• Cerastium thomsonii

• Cerastium tianschanicum

• Cerastium tolucense

• Cerastium tomentosum – snow-in-summer

• Cerastium transsilvanicum

• Cerastium trianae

• Cerastium trichocalyx

• Cerastium × triculinum

• Cerastium tucumanense

• Cerastium undulatifolium

• Cerastium uniflorum - glacier mouse-ear

• Cerastium utriense

• Cerastium vagans

• Cerastium velutinum

• Cerastium venezuelanum

• Cerastium verecundum

• Cerastium verticifolium

• Cerastium viride

• Cerastium viscatum

• Cerastium vourinense

• Cerastium vulcanicum

• Cerastium wilhelmianum

• Cerastium wilsonii

• Cerastium zhiguliense

References