Parietaria judaica

Spreading pellitory

Family: Urticaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Spreading pellitory is a naturalized perennial herb found in southern coastal California regions including Santa Clara Valley, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California in roadsides and disturbed coastal bluff areas at elevations below 125 meters. Flowering from November to August, this plant produces inconspicuous green flowers in small clusters. Growing with decumbent to erect stems that become woody, reaching 10 to 80 centimeters tall, it spreads across disturbed landscapes. Its leaves are distinctively varied, ranging from 11 to 90 millimeters long, with shapes transitioning from narrow lanceolate to wide ovate, featuring tapered or rounded bases and acuminate tips. The small black fruits are approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters long with acute tips.

Habitat: Roadsides, disturbed areas on coastal bluffs

Bloom period: Nov-Aug

Elevation: < 125 m

Bioregions: s ScV, CCo, SnFrB, SCo

California counties: San Francisco, San Bernardino, Alameda, Santa Cruz, Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Mateo, Monterey, Yolo, Marin, Contra Costa, Santa Clara

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