Scleranthus annuus subsp. annuus

Knawel

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Knawel is a naturalized annual herb found in northern California's Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada, and Peninsular Ranges in meadows, stream margins, serpentine areas, and disturbed habitats at elevations of 300 to 1,200 meters. Flowering all year, this plant produces small, inconspicuous green flowers in compact clusters 3 to 15 millimeters wide. Growing with prostrate to erect stems 4 to 20 centimeters tall, it forms a much-branched, rigid structure with fine, recurved hairs along stem lines. Its leaves are 4 to 20 millimeters long with scarious, ciliate sheaths and sharp-pointed tips. The seed is a widely ovoid, tan structure with a distinctive red crescent near its acute tip.

Habitat: Meadows, stream margins, serpentine areas, disturbed areas

Bloom period: All year

Elevation: 300-1200 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRO, NCoRH, CaR, n SN, c SNF, PR

California counties: San Diego, Calaveras, El Dorado, Colusa, Sacramento, Butte, Siskiyou, Mendocino, Tehama, Shasta, Plumas, Nevada, Lake, Mariposa, Madera, Napa, Humboldt, Del Norte, Fresno, Placer, Riverside, Tuolumne, Trinity, Amador

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