Cerastium diffusum

Cerastium diffusum, the fourstamen chickweed^[1] or sea mouse-ear,^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the pink and carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is an annual herb, up to 30 cm.high, occurring in western Europe and northern Africa. It is mainly found in coastal areas of Algeria, the Baleares, Belgium, Corsica, Denmark, France, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain and Sweden.^[3] The flowers have 4, (or rarely 5) petals, 4 or 5 stamens appearing between March and May. The petals are much shorter than the sepals. The leaves are opposite, (sessile) without petioles and the sepals and bracts are all green, without pale margins. The fruit petioles are upright and diffuse at maturity.^{[4]: 490 [5]: 52}

Cerastium diffusum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Genus:	Cerastium
Species:	C. diffusum
Binomial name
Cerastium diffusum Pers.
Synonyms
Cerastium atrovirens Bab. Cerastium tetrandrum Curtis

There are 2 known Infraspecifics;^[3]

• Cerastium diffusum subsp. diffusum
• Cerastium diffusum subsp. gussonei (Tod. ex Lojac.) P.D.Sell & Whitehead

It was first published in Synopsis plantarum 1 on page 520 in 1805.^[3]