Callitriche heterophylla var. bolanderi

Bolander's water starwort

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Bolander's water starwort is a California native perennial found in the California Floristic Province and North Coast Ranges in submerged aquatic habitats, including lakes, pools, and streams at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from April to July, this aquatic plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers in delicate floating rosettes or stranded at water edges. Growing with slender, branching stems that spread across water surfaces, it forms dense, intricate clusters of fine vegetation. Its leaves are variable in shape, ranging from linear underwater leaves to broader floating leaves, creating a distinctive adaptation to changing aquatic environments. The fruit is tiny, measuring 0.8 to 1.4 millimeters long, contributing to its delicate and unobtrusive nature.

Habitat: Submerged, with floating rosettes or becoming stranded at edge of lake, pools, or streams

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, MP

California counties: Lassen, Butte, Humboldt, Lake, Calaveras, Fresno, Sierra, Contra Costa, San Diego, Riverside, Modoc, Tehama, Sacramento, Mendocino, Yuba, Placer, Madera, Marin, Shasta, El Dorado, Napa, Sonoma, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Siskiyou, Mono, San Joaquin, Inyo, Alameda, Tuolumne, Amador, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Ventura, Del Norte

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