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Cerastium arvense

Cerastium arvense: Flower
Photo by Derrick Ditchburn. High resolution version

Common name:	Field Mouse-Ear Chickweed	Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Most of Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and temperate Asia..
Habitat:	Dry banks and waysides, and in grassland, especially on calcareous or slightly acid sandy soils, throughout Britain but mainly in the east[257].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chickweed, Field [S], Field Chickweed [S,L,P], Field Mouse-ear [L], Field Mouse-ear Chickweed [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	arvense = of cultivated fields;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Pink family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.2m by 1m . . It is in flower from April to August, and the seeds ripen from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies and small bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

The plant is astringent[257]. A decoction of the plant has been used in the treatment of injuries and miscarriage[257]. A decoction is said to stop uterine bleeding and prevents the child from passing through the uterus[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

See the plants native habitat for ideas on its cultivation needs.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Division in spring. The prostate shoots root freely as they spread[200], making division very simple[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Caryophyllaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Cerastium+arvense
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Cerastium+arvense

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.