Download Mouse-eared cHickweed

Pasture Weed Watch
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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