Marsilea vestita subsp. vestita

Family: Marsileaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Marsilea clover is a native aquatic fern found in diverse California bioregions including the Klamath Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, northern Central Valley, Sierra Nevada, and coastal regions at elevations up to 2,200 meters. Emerging in moist habitats like creek beds, flood basins, and vernal pools, this distinctive fern grows with delicate, four-leaflet structures reminiscent of clover leaves. Its leaves are uniquely hairy, with floating leaf stems 6 to 35 centimeters long and distinctive asymmetrical leaflets that have unequally concave sides and gently convex margins. The plant produces small, intricate sporangium cases 3 to 8 millimeters wide with unbranched stalks, adapting to seasonal wet environments. Its leaflets display an elegant, slightly asymmetric form that allows it to thrive in fluctuating water landscapes across California.

Habitat: Creek beds, flood basins, vernal pools

Elevation: < 2200 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRI, CaR, n&amps SNF, SNH, GV, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo, WTR, SnBr, PR, MP, DSon

California counties: Sonoma, San Bernardino, Orange, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Yuba, Los Angeles, Merced, Glenn, Tulare, Riverside, Colusa, Sutter, San Diego, Modoc, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Butte, Tehama, Lassen, Nevada, Siskiyou, Plumas, Kings, Fresno, San Joaquin, San Benito, Amador, Stanislaus, Santa Clara, Napa, Placer, Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Sacramento, Solano, Sierra, Shasta, Mono, Kern, El Dorado, Yolo

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