Elatine rubella

Southwestern waterwort

Family: Elatinaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Southwestern waterwort is a California native perennial found in low-elevation muddy shores, shallow vernal pools, and rice fields at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces delicate white or pink flowers with three petals, small and nestled close to slender stems. Growing prostrate to erect with stems 3 to 6 centimeters tall, often subtly tinted reddish, it spreads close to the ground in wet habitats. Its lance-oblong leaves have blunt or slightly notched tips, with petioles less than a quarter the length of the leaf blade. The tiny fruit contains three chambers, each holding narrow-oblong seeds arranged in compact rows.

Habitat: Muddy shores, shallow vernal pools, rice fields

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: San Diego, Modoc, Fresno, San Bernardino, Lassen, Butte, Tehama, Plumas, Stanislaus, Madera, Tuolumne, Mono, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Nevada, Colusa, Yolo, Sacramento, Humboldt

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