States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

Field Chickweed

Cerastium arvense

Found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

—
Not native

Not native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Height
6 inches–1 foot
Light
Sun
Soil moisture
Dry

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Cerastium

  • Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
  • Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
  • Agrotis volubilisVoluble Dart
  • Hadena capsularisCapsule Moth
  • Haematopis gratariaChickweed Geometer
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cerastium

  • Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
  • Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
  • Lagopus mutaRock Ptarmigan
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Caryophyllaceae
Flower color
White

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Field Chick Weed

Conservation status

West Virginia rankSNR
Global rankNot available
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources