Chickweed
Common chickweed is an annual, while mouseear chickweed is a perennial herb. Both are spreading, mat-forming plants, found in lawns, turf, cultivated fields, roadsides, forests and gardens. Common chickweed can be a serious weed in small grains, but it is an important food for wildlife and is used in orchards and vineyards to control erosion and to maintain consistent soil temperatures.
Click on images to view full-size
Common Chickweed—Stellaria media
Creeping stems root at the nodes. Lower leaves are on long petioles, while upper leaves are without petioles.>
Leaves are bright light-green, hairless, nearly rounded with pointed tips, and are ½ to 1½ inches long.
Flowers occur singly, are ¼ inch across, with 5 white petals so deeply indented that they appear as 10 petals.
Mouseear Chickweed—Cerastium vulgatum, Cerastium fontanum
All leaves are without petioles. Entire plant is covered with short white hairs.
Leaves are dark grayish-green, oval and covered with soft white hairs, up to ¾ inch long.
Flowers have 5 white petals, deeply notched, but not as deeply as common, and usually occur in clusters of 3 at the end of stems.
Identification and Control Information
- Common Chickweed Fact Sheet with Description and Control Options (PDF) —Penn State Cooperative Extension
- Common Chickweed Fact Sheet with Description and Control Options (PDF) —United States Department of Agriculture
- Mouse-ear Chickweed Fact Sheet with Description and Control Options (PDF) —Penn State Cooperative Extension
More Information
- Weeds and Your Garden (PDF) —New York State IPM Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Weed Management in the Home Garden (PDF) —Iowa State University Extension
[Photos, left to right: Robert Vidéki, Doronicum Kft., Bugwood.org; Rebekah D. Wallace, Bugwood.org; Theodore Webster, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org; Theodore Webster, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org; Theodore Webster, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org; Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis, Bugwood.org]