Callitriche stagnalis

Pond water starwort

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Pond water starwort is a naturalized perennial found in northern California Coast, northern California Coast Ranges, and northern Sierra Nevada Foothills in permanent water, muddy stream edges, and pond habitats at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces small, inconspicuous white flowers in delicate rosettes. Growing as a floating or terrestrial plant with slender stems, it forms compact clusters in aquatic environments. Its leaves are variable, ranging from 4 to 9 millimeters long and 1 to 4 millimeters wide, with translucent sickle-shaped bracts surrounding the tiny flowers. The fruit is light brown to gray, subsessile, with a wing that gradually transitions to the fruit wall.

Habitat: Floating rosettes in permanent water, terrestrial on mud or becoming stranded by streams, or ponds

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoR, n SNF

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