Cerastium vulgare Hartman, Handb. Skand. Fl. 182. 1820; C. caespitosum Gilibert ex Ascherson, nom. illeg. (included C. viscosum Linnaeus and C. vulgatum Linnaeus); C. caespitosum subsp. triviale (Spenner) Hiitonen; C. fontanum var. angustifolium (Franchet) H. Hara; C. fontanum subsp. holosteoides (Fries) Salman et al.; C. fontanum var. tibeticum (Edgeworth & J. D. Hooker) C. Y. Wu & L. H. Zhou; C. fontanum subsp. triviale (Spenner) Jalas; C. holosteoides Fries; C. holosteoides var. hallaisanense (Nakai) Mizushima; C. holosteoides subsp. triviale (Spenner) Möschl; C. ianthes F. N. Williams; C. triviale Link, nom. illeg. (included C. viscosum and C. vulgatum ); C. vulgatum Linnaeus var. angustifolium Franchet; C. vulgatum subsp. caespitosum Dostál; C. vulgatum var. hallaisanense Nakai; C. vulgatum var. tibeticum Edgeworth & J. D. Hooker.

Herbs short-lived perennial. Petals shorter than or equaling sepals.

Forest margins, mountain slopes, hilltop grasslands, fields, sandy soils, rock crevices, roadsides; 100--2300 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [cosmopolitan weed].