Ludwigia repens

Creeping primrose willow

Family: Onagraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Creeping primrose willow is a California native perennial found in southern California deserts including the Santa Barbara Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, and southwestern Mojave Desert in muddy or sandy streambanks and ponds at elevations below 900 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces yellow flowers 1 to 3 millimeters long with four delicate petals. Growing as a low, matted herb 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it spreads by decumbent stems that root at the nodes and create sprawling patches. Its opposite leaves are narrowly elliptic to nearly round, ranging up to 5 centimeters long and appearing smooth or minutely hairy. The plant produces small erect fruits 4 to 10 millimeters long that develop after flowering.

Habitat: Muddy or sandy streambanks, ponds

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: < 900 m

Bioregions: SnBr, PR, sw DMoj

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