Polycarpon tetraphyllum subsp. tetraphyllum

Four-leaved allseed

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: annual

Four-leaved allseed is a naturalized annual found in disturbed shaded areas and roadsides at elevations below 450 meters. Flowering from spring to fall, this plant produces tiny white to pale greenish flowers that rarely open except in larger plants. Growing with prostrate to erect stems 1 to 6 centimeters tall, often much-branched and mounding in wetter conditions. Its leaves are broadly ovate to obovate, typically 4 to 12 millimeters long, with distinctive lanceolate stipules. The plant forms delicate, granular seeds and can adapt to create dense, low-growing mats in disturbed ground.

Habitat: Disturbed shaded areas, roadsides

Bloom period: Spring-fall

Elevation: < 450 m, 1180 m

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