Cerastium diffusum, the fourstamen chickweed[1] or sea mouse-ear,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the pink and carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is an annual herb, to 30 cm.high, occurring in western Europe and northern Africa. Found mainly in coastal areas of Algeria, the Baleares, Belgium, Corsica, Denmark, France, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain and Sweden.[3] The flowers have 4, (or seldom 5) petals, 4 or 5 stamens appearing between March and May. The petals are much shorter than the sepals. The leaves are opposite, (sessile) without petioles and the sepals and bracts are all green, without pale margins. The fruit petioles are erect and diffuse at maturity.[4]: 490 [5]: 52
| Cerastium diffusum | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Cerastium |
| Species: | C. diffusum
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| Binomial name | |
| Cerastium diffusum | |
| Synonyms | |
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There are 2 known Infraspecifics;[3]
- Cerastium diffusum subsp. diffusum
- Cerastium diffusum subsp. gussonei (Tod. ex Lojac.) P.D.Sell & Whitehead
It was first published in Synopsis plantarum 1 on page 520 in 1805.[3]
References
edit- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Cerastium diffusum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Cerastium diffusum Pers. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
- ^ Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2.
- ^ Blamey, M.; Fitter, R.; Fitter, A (2003). Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora. London: A & C Black. ISBN 978-1408179505.