Cerastium tomentosum

Linnaeus

Sp. Pl. 1: 440. 1753.

Common names: Dusty miller snow-in-summer céraiste tomenteux
Introduced
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 5. Treatment on page 91. Mentioned on page 76, 80, 92.

Plants perennial, mat-forming, rhizomatous. Stems: flowering-stems ascending, branched, 15–40 cm; nonflowering stems prostrate proximally, rooting readily, pubescence dense, white-tomentose, eglandular; small axillary tufts of leaves often present. Leaves not marcescent, sessile; blade linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblong, 10–60 × 2–8 mm, apex ± obtuse, pubescence dense, whitish-tomentose, eglandular on both surfaces. Inflorescences lax, 3–13-flowered cymes; bracts lanceolate, margins scarious, pubescent. Pedicels ascending, straight, 10–40 mm, 2–7 times as long as sepals, white-tomentose. Flowers 12–20 mm diam.; sepals narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, 5–7 mm, margins narrow, often scarious, apex acute, white-tomentose; petals obtriangular, 10–18 mm, 2–2.5 times as long as sepals, apex 2-fid; stamens 10; styles 5. Capsules cylindric, slightly curved, 10–15 mm, 1.5–2 times as long as sepals; teeth 10, erect, margins convolute. Seeds brown, ca. 1.5 mm, round tubercles on margins, faces shallowly rugose; testa not inflated. 2n = 72.


Phenology: Flowering spring.
Habitat: A commonly grown rock-garden and wall plant, often escaping onto roadsides, riverbanks, old fields
Elevation: 0-400 m

Distribution

V5 189-distribution-map.gif

Introduced; B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Maine, Mich., Mont., Nebr., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., Wash., Wis., Wyo., se Europe

Discussion

Cerastium tomentosum hybridizes readily with the introduced C. arvense subsp. arvense (J. K. Morton 1973).

North American reports of Cerastium biebersteinii de Candolle all appear to be referable to C. tomentosum. The two species are very similar, but C. biebersteinii has flat capsule teeth and is diploid (2n = 36); see M. K. Khalaf and C. A. Stace (2001).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"-2timesaslongassepals" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property."-7timesaslongassepals" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Cerastium tomentosum"
perigynous +  and hypogynous +
white-tomentose +, whitish-tomentose +  and dense +
2-fid;acute;obtuse +
John K. Morton +
Linnaeus +
elliptic to broadly ovate +  and linear +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
linear +  and linear-lanceolate or linear-oblong +
not succulent +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
often +  and herbaceous +
lanceolate +
reduced +
herbaceous +  and scarious +
8 +  and 6 +
cylindric +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
Dusty miller +, snow-in-summer +  and céraiste tomenteux +
3-13-flowered +
dish--shaped +
expanded +
B.C. +, Man. +, N.B. +, Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.) +, N.S. +, Ont. +, P.E.I. +, Que. +, Maine +, Mich. +, Mont. +, Nebr. +, N.Y. +, N.C. +, Ohio +, Oreg. +, Pa. +, Wash. +, Wis. +, Wyo. +  and se Europe +
0-400 m +
straight +  and curved +
central +  and peripheral +
pistillate +  and subsessile +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (?) +  and 2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
inconspicuous +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
stalked +  and simple +
A commonly grown rock-garden and wall plant, often escaping onto roadsides, riverbanks, old fields +
disc--shaped +  and dish +
not marcescent +
connate +
translucent +  and purplish +
swollen +
eglandular +  and rooting +
white-tomentose +  and dense +
3 +  and 5 +
crassinucellate +  and bitegmic +
campylotropous +
white-tomentose +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
perigynous +  and hypogynous +
fugacious +
2-2.5 times as long as sepals +
obtriangular +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
Flowering spring. +
papillate-tuberculate +
compressed +  and angular-obovate +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (?) +
lanceolate-elliptic +
persistent +
distinct +
elliptic;ovate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
Introduced +
branched +  and simple +
ascending;erect or decumbent +
subterminal +
[30 +  and 5 +
roughened +  and papillate +
distinct +
clavate +  and filiform +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
rooting +  and rhizomatous +
Cerastium tomentosum +
Cerastium +
species +
not inflated +
divided +
10 +  and 8 +
plant +  and mat-forming +
pubescence of simple hairs or stalked glands +  and glabrous +
19 +, 18 +, 17 +, 15] +, 13 +  and [9 +