When the flowers are pollinated, they curve back toward the ground where the seed pods safely mature, out of sight and out of mind. You can see these in the scan of the rhizome above. Later in the season, they also form a non-flowering 'flower', called a cleistogamous flower, right down at ground level, or slightly below ground. Unless you happen to dig one up at the right time, you'll never see these flowers, but they are very capable of producing additional seedpods full of viable seed. It's thought that this additional method of producing seed developed because the plants flower so early in the season, before many pollinating insects are active.
This is one of the almost mature seedpods from the plant in the scan above. I split it open to show the almost mature seeds. When mature, the pods split into three sections, releasing the seed.
I have a theory that it shoots the seeds out, since I find seedlings all over the driveway - some distance from any mature plants - but have been able to find no verification for this. However, this is also a plant whose seeds are spread by ants, who collect them for the nutritious elaiosomes, small protuberances (you can almost see one on the seed closest to the reddish stem in the scan), generally whitish in color, that are attached to the seed. The ants carry the seeds back to their nests to munch on the elaiosomes. The seedcoats are too hard for the ants to penetrate, so they discard the seeds on their compost piles, which provide a lovely environment for germination, thus spreading the plants about.
When you weed out these plants, you have to remove the rhizome. Simply pulling the leaves does nothing, since any bit of the rhizome left in place will grow a new set. Seedlings also have rudimentary rhizomes, so be sure to get it all when you pull.
This is one of those weeds that I pull when it gets on my nerves and leave when it doesn't. If it wouldn't insist on trying to cover the entire property in seedlings, we'd get along much better.
No Beauty, Just Thuggery
Mouse Leafed Chickweed
Cerastium vulgatum, the mouse-eared chickweed gets the 'mouse eared' part of its name from the hairy leaves, shown in this scan of a seedling. The 'chickweed' part allies it to Stellaria media, the common chickweed, who forms those huge, juicy mats in spring.
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