CARYOPHYLLACEAE (PINK FAMILY) 141 



styles usually five, sometimes four or three. Capsules much exceed- 

 ing the calyx and containing many small, roughened seeds which are 

 released by the opening of ten pointed teeth at the apex. In the 

 southern part of its range the plant dies down in summer, but 

 makes a second growth in autumn and remains green through the 

 winter. 



Means of control 



Where the plant takes possession of grasslands it is best to cleanse 

 the ground with a short rotation of hoed crops. Small areas 

 should be carefully grubbed out, and wayside patches prevented 

 from spreading. 



COMMON MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEED 

 Cerdstium vulgatum, L. 



Introduced. Perennial. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom : May to September. 

 Seed-time : June to October. 

 Range: Throughout North America except 



the extreme North. 

 Habitat: Fields, meadows, yards, roadsides, 



and waste places. 



Stems tufted, some prostrate, others erect 

 or ascending, six inches to a foot or more in 

 length, dark green, and clammy-hairy. Basal 

 and lower leaves oblong-spatulate, obtuse ; 

 upper ones usually oblong, sometimes lance- 

 shaped, a half-inch to an inch long, not at all 

 resembling the ears of a mouse. Flowers in 

 loose cymose clusters, the central one solitary 

 and always the oldest ; usually but one flower 

 in a cluster is open at a time ; the five white 

 petals are cleft at the tip and are longer than 

 the somewhat obtuse, hairy sepals ; styles 

 always five, and stamens ten. Seed capsule FIG. 93. Common 

 slenderly ovoid, faintly ridged, slightly curved 

 upward, opening through ten pointed teeth 



