Cerastium axillare

Correll

Brittonia 18: 308. 1967.

Common names: Trans Pecos mouse-ear chickweed
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 5. Treatment on page 81. Mentioned on page 74, 75.

Plants annual, viscid. Stems usually erect, simple or several-branched, from branched caudex, rarely bushy, 6–40 cm, glandular-pilose, hairs in midstem region equaling or longer than stem diam.; small axillary tufts of leaves absent Leaves sessile; blade 7–25 × 1–6 mm; basal rosette absent or poorly developed and withering when young; proximal with blade oblanceolate to spatulate; distal with blade linear-lanceolate or lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, apex usually acute, rarely obtuse, glandular-pilose. Inflorescences diffuse, elongate, usually with single dichotomy at or below mid-stem, 3–18-flowered cymes, glandular-pubescent, flowers widely and racemosely spaced in axils of paired bracts along each branch; bracts herbaceous, lanceolate, glandular-pubescent. Pedicels sharply curved just below capsule, 2–10 (–15) mm, shorter than to 2 times as long as capsule, with dense, patent, glandular pubescence. Flowers: sepals lanceolate, 3–5 mm, apex acute, glandular-hispid, hairs not extending beyond sepal tips, inner sepals with broad margins, outer sepals with very narrow margins; petals oblanceolate, 2–3 mm, shorter than sepals, apex 2-fid ca. 1/4 of length; stamens 5; styles 5. Capsules narrowly cylindric, curved, 7–8.5 mm, ca. 2 times as long as sepals; teeth 10, erect, margins convolute. Seeds light-brown, 0.4–0.7 mm diam., tuberculate; testa not inflated.


Phenology: Flowering summer.
Habitat: Rocky canyons, woodland and mountain slopes
Elevation: 1300-2800 m

Discussion

Cerastium axillare is similar to C. brachypodum in its short pedicels, but it is more viscid-pubescent, with a much more diffuse habit and solitary flowers widely spaced along the elongate, racemelike primary branches of the inflorescence. In addition, the leaves are usually acute, whereas in C. brachypodum they are usually obtuse. Cerastium axillare is confined in the United States to the trans-Pecos mountains of Texas and New Mexico.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

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

... more about "Cerastium axillare"
perigynous +  and hypogynous +
glandular-hispid +  and glandular-pilose +
2-fid;acute;obtuse;acute +
John K. Morton +
Correll +
elliptic to broadly ovate +  and linear +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
lanceolate +  and narrowly elliptic +
not succulent +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
glandular-pubescent +
lanceolate +
reduced +
herbaceous +  and scarious +
8 +  and 6 +
cylindric +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (0.85 cm8.5 mm <br />0.0085 m <br />) +
Trans Pecos mouse-ear chickweed +
3-18-flowered +
dish--shaped +
expanded +
N.Mex. +, Tex. +  and Mexico +
1300-2800 m +
straight +  and curved +
central +  and peripheral +
3-18-flowered +
inconspicuous +
glandular-pubescent +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
stalked +  and simple +
Rocky canyons, woodland and mountain slopes +
disc--shaped +  and dish +
connate +
translucent +  and purplish +
glandular-pubescent +
swollen +
3 +  and 5 +
crassinucellate +  and bitegmic +
campylotropous +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
reflexed;erect +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
perigynous +  and hypogynous +
fugacious +
oblanceolate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
Flowering summer. +
light-brown +
0.4mm;0.7mm +
tuberculate +
compressed +  and angular-obovate +
persistent +
distinct +
lanceolate +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
several-branched +  and simple +
glandular-pilose +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br />) +
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 axillare +
Cerastium +
species +
not inflated +
divided +
10 +  and 8 +
rhizomatous +  and taprooted +
pubescence of simple hairs or stalked glands +  and glabrous +
19 +, 18 +, 17 +, 15] +, 13 +  and [9 +