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Cerastium viscosum

Common name:		Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe to E. Asia. Naturalized in N. America.
Habitat:	Naturalized in waste places, fields and roadsides from S. Newfoundland to Florida and California[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. acutatum[B,P] C. glomeratum[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,,G,L,P] C. glomeratum var. apetalum[B,P] C. viscosum auct. non[P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Mouse-ear Chickweed [L], Mouseear [E], Sticky Chickweed [L,P], Sticky Mouse-ear [L], Sticky Mouse-ear Chickweed [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	viscosum = sticky;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Pink family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Ok)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.3m. . The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves and young shoots[179]. No more details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anodyne; Astringent.

The juice of the plant is applied to the forehead to relieve headaches[272]. It is also dropped into the nostril to treat nosebleeds[272].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. It is likely to require a moist soil in light shade.
According to some botanists this species is no more than a synonym for C. holosteoides.

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.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Cerastium glomeratum (a possible synonym).

[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[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.
[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

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

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+viscosum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Cerastium+viscosum

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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.