Common Mouse-ear - Cerastium fontanum

Low to short, slightly hairy, laxly tufted plant with short, basal non-flowering shoots. Leaves lanceolate, unstalked. Bracts mostly white edged. Flowers white, in lax clusters 6 to 10 mm petals deeply notched, equalling sepals.

other Mouse-ear Chickweeds, and Chickweeds (Stellaria)

Perennials, so with creeping non-flowering shoots as well as erect flowering shoots; 5 styles; petals about as long as sepals, often longer; hairy but with 0 or few glandular hairs

A general photo of the plant and a close-up of flowers, including side-on to show sepals

Grassy habitats and flower meadows, shingle and sand dunes.

April to November.

Perennial.

Common throughout Britain.

Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 598 of the 617 tetrads.

In the current checklist (Jeeves, 2011) it is listed as Native, frequent