Shetland Mouse-ear

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Cerastium arcticum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Cerastium
Species: C. nigrescens
Binomial name
Cerastium nigrescens

Shetland Mouse-ear Cerastium nigrescens, also known as Shetland Mouse-eared Chickweed or Edmondston's Chickweed, is an endemic plant found in Shetland, Great Britain.

It was first recorded in 1837 by Shetland botanist Thomas Edmondston, who was 12 at the time. For a long time it was synonomised with Arctic Mouse-ear Cerastium arcticum but it is now widely regarded as a separate species. Although reported from two other sites in the 19th century, it currently grows only on two serpentine hills on the island of Unst.

[edit] References

  • Scott, W. & Palmer, R. 1987. The Flowering Plants and Ferns of the Shetland Islands. Shetland Times, Lerwick.
  • Scott, W. Harvey, P., Riddington, R. & Fisher, M. 2002. Rare Plants of Shetland. Shetland Amenity Trust, Lerwick.