Field chickweed, Cerastium arvense, is a flower that I come across on a regular basis this time of year.  This particular variety, subspecies strictum, is fairly common across the country.

The five white petals are distinctively split, making it look like there are ten petals at first glance.

This species can also be called starry grasswort or prairie mouse-ear, not to be confused with mouseear chickweed.

Oregon State University explains that field chickweed “is almost identical to mouseear chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum) except that leaves are more narrow and are darker green.  The habit of field chickweed also tends to be lower growing than that of mouseear chickweed.”

Field chickweed is a native plant, while mouseear chickweed originated in Eurasia.

I came across several websites that said that field chickweed have edible greens, but you know better than to believe that anything I blog about is harmless.