''Moenchia erecta'', the erect chickweed or upright chickweed (though the latter name may refer to any species of ''

Moenchia ''Moenchia'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae with three species native to the Mediterranean region of southern Europe and naturalised in southern Africa and parts of North America and Australia. They are herbs, with an annual ...

''), is a small annual plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

. It can grow to over 10 cm in height, but it is usually smaller. It has blue-green glaucous

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

, and small, delicate white

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are longer than the petals, green and bordered in white. The plant is a common pasture weed native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It has been introduced elsewhere, including

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, but it is not particularly

invasive Invasive may refer to: *Invasive (medical) procedure *Invasive species *Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance *Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...

or competitive. In areas where it has been introduced, it springs up opportunistically in gardens, mowed fields, and other disturbed areas. It prefers moist places, such as grassy

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s near marshes and coastal hills. The plant grows well in bare, sandy, gravelly soils, such as those at shorelines or on overgrazed fields.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q160144 Caryophyllaceae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Europe