Cerastium diffusum

Dark green mouse-ear chickweed, Dark Green Mouse-Ear Chickweed

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Dark green mouse-ear chickweed is a naturalized annual found in the northern California coastal region (Mendocino County) in coastal sand habitats at elevations below 10 meters. Flowering in spring, this plant produces white flowers with petals 3 to 5 millimeters long, slightly shorter than the sepals. Growing 12 to 30 centimeters tall with ascending to erect stems that are distinctively glandular-hairy, it spreads with a delicate, branching form. Its leaves are spoon-shaped or ovate-elliptic, measuring 5 to 12 millimeters long on the flower stems. The fruit reaches 6.5 to 8 millimeters in length, bearing small seeds approximately 0.5 to 0.7 millimeters.

Habitat: Coastal sand

Bloom period: Spring

Elevation: < 10 m

Bioregions: NCo (Mendocino Co.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.