Taxon: Cerastium fontanum Baumg. subsp. vulgare (Hartm.) Greuter & Burdet

Summary

Genus:

Cerastium

Family:

Caryophyllaceae

Subfamily:

Alsinoideae

Tribe:

Alsineae

Nomen number:

407889

Place of publication:

Willdenowia 12:37. 1982

Verified:

03/12/1997 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

0 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System.

Other conspecific taxa

Cerastium fontanum Baumg. (0 active accession[s])
Cerastium fontanum Baumg. subsp. fontanum (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Cerastium vulgare Hartm.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Cerastium caespitosum Gilib. ex Asch.
Cerastium fontanum Baumg. subsp. triviale (Spenn.) Jalas
Cerastium holosteoides Fr.
Cerastium triviale Link
Cerastium vulgatum L.
Cerastium vulgatum L. var. vulgatum

Invalid Designation(s)
Cerastium vulgatum auct.

No images

Links

Seeds or fruits – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
Hokche, O. et al. 2008. Nuevo catálogo de la flora vascular de Venezuela.
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia Note: = Cerastium holosteoides Fr.
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol. Note: = Cerastium vulgatum
Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, ed. 2.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	mouse-ear chickweed	as Cerastium vulgatum	1	Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol. Note: = Cerastium vulgatum
French	céraiste commun	as Cerastium fontanum	2	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
German	Quellen-Hornkraut	as Cerastium fontanum	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
Swedish	hönsarv		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan			Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Korea			Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Mongolia	Mongolia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation-Far East	Far East		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia		Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India		n.	Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Press, J. R. et al. 2000-. Annotated checklist of the flowering plants of Nepal (on-line resource)
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Slovakia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bosnia and Herzegovina			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Montenegro			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	North Macedonia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Serbia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain		incl. Baleares	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Azores		Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	Lesotho			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Jardin botanique national de Belgique. 1967-. Flore du Congo, du Rwanda et du Burundi (Flore d'Afrique centrale).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Jawa		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines			Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea			Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand			Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Canada			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Subarctic America	Greenland			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Wagner, W. L. et al. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i
4	Naturalized	Pacific	South-Central Pacific	French Polynesia	Austral Islands		Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	South-Central Pacific	Pitcairn			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Hispaniola			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela	Mérida		Hokche, O. et al. 2008. Nuevo catálogo de la flora vascular de Venezuela.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador			Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
6	Other					exact native range obscure

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
NORTHERN AFRICA: Morocco, Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
MONGOLIA: Mongolia
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East]
CHINA: China
EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Japan, Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India (n.), Nepal, Pakistan
INDO-CHINA: Vietnam

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Portugal [Azores]
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Democratic Republic of the Congo
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Lesotho, South Africa

Asia-Tropical

PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
MALESIA: Indonesia [Jawa], Philippines

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Northern America

SUBARCTIC AMERICA: Greenland
REGION: Canada, United States

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: Pitcairn, French Polynesia [Austral Islands]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Venezuela [Mérida]
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile

Other (exact native range obscure)

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hokche, O. et al. 2008. Nuevo catálogo de la flora vascular de Venezuela.
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Jardin botanique national de Belgique. 1967-. Flore du Congo, du Rwanda et du Burundi (Flore d'Afrique centrale).
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Press, J. R. et al. 2000-. Annotated checklist of the flowering plants of Nepal (on-line resource)
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
Wagner, W. L. et al. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Weed		as Cerastium caespitosum	Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR. Note: as Cerastium caespitosum
Weed		as Cerastium vulgatum	Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2 Note: as Cerastium vulgatum

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=407889. Accessed 26 June 2026.