Callitriche fassettii

Fassett's water starwort

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Fassett's water starwort is a California native perennial found in northern California regions including the Central Valley, Sierra Nevada foothills, San Francisco Bay Area, and Modoc Plateau in submerged habitats like streams and ponds at elevations below 2,100 meters. Flowering from April to July, this aquatic plant produces tiny, inconspicuous flowers in delicate axillary clusters. Growing as scattered or dense underwater stands, it forms slender stems with submersed linear leaves that taper from the base. Its leaves are narrow and elongated, adapted to underwater environments with flexible, thread-like structures. The fruit is broadly winged, small and compact, measuring approximately 1.5 to 1.8 millimeters wide.

Habitat: Submerged in streams, ponds

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 2100 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaRF, c SN, GV, SnFrB, SnBr, MP (exc Wrn), expected elsewhere

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.