Myosoton

Myosoton

 

a genus of plants of the family Caryophyllaceae. It has a single species, water chickweed (Myosoton aquaticum). The plant is a perennial herb with a decumbent or suberect stem. The ovate, thin leaves are hairy or naked; the flowers are in diffuse, dichasial inflorescences. The perianth is five-parted, and the white petals are deeply bilocular. The fruit is a capsule. Water chickweed grows in the temperate zone of Eurasia; in the USSR it is commonly found along damp shores, in gardens, and in areas overgrown with weeds. It is sometimes encountered in meadows and forests. Water chickweed is eaten by livestock.