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Pasture Weed Watch brought to you by Mouse-eared chickweed Cerastium fontanum, Cerastium glomeratum, Cerastium vulgatum milton munro M ouse-eared chickweed is a broad term for a number of weeds belonging to the genus Cerastium. In fact I seem to have found at least three distinct weeds: Cerastium fontanum, Cerastium glomeratum and Cerastium vulgatum. In my defence they are all so similarlooking it would be almost impossible to distinguish them. For the purposes of this article I won’t, so consider them all mouse-eared chickweed! All of the mouse-eared chickweeds originate in central Europe and Asia and have spread themselves right around the world. They are members of the Pink family (or Caryophyllaceae family for those who want scientific accuracy) which includes such notable members as carnation and gypsophila, and the weeds chickweed, spurrey and pearlwort. One last interesting titbit for you: the name Cerastium is derived from the Greek word keras, meaning ‘horn’ which is what the seed resembles as it emerges. Mouse-eared chickweed is pretty easy to identify in the field. The oval leaves are a grey-green colour and emerge from the stem in opposite pairs. The stems creep across the ground and can form quite large rosettes. The entire plant is covered in small fine white hairs, with the leaves resembling the ears of a mouse. Mouse-eared chickweed produces small white star-shaped flowers from late spring to late summer. These produce seeds rapidly and the seeds then mature quickly, helping the plant spread across an area in no time. Unlike its very similar cousin, the annual chickweed, mouseeared chickweed is a perennial weed. The plant dies back to a small rosette in winter, only to regrow in spring and begin its cycle again. How to control it Photo: Steven J. Baskauf http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/33300 In low numbers, mouse-eared chickweed is easily controlled through cultivation or hand-pulling. It has a very fine and quite weak root system that makes it very susceptible to pulling or hoeing. If there are large numbers and chemical control is required, it becomes a lot harder to dislodge its hold on a paddock. Just like chickweed, mouse-eared chickweed is resistant to a lot of common chemistry and, to make it worse, the fine hairs on it prevent the chemistry that does work from getting down to the leaf surface. The best product to use is Preside but you will need to use the higher rate and you will need to get the timing right - the younger the plants, the better - so it doesn’t have enough time to really develop and thicken its hair cover. Hopefully the autumn is treating you all kindly. Keep the emails coming in as I love to hear about your never-ending battles with weeds. Until next month, take care of yourselves. Cerastium glomeratum Photo: Javier Martin, Wikimedia Commons Mouse-eared chickweed Photo: Wikimedia Commons Milton Munro is a soil and plant scientist for rural supply company PGG Wrightson. He looks at common pasture weeds you’ll find on your block and how to deal with them. Do you need help with a weed problem? If anyone has a request for a particular weed they would like to know more about please don’t hesitate to let Milton know: [email protected] Cerastium vulgatum Photo: SB Johnny, Wikimedia Commons www.nzlifestyleblock.co.nz 77