Spergula arvensis

Stickwort, starwort, Starwort

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Stickwort is a naturalized annual found in northern California coastal regions, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, Central Valley, Central Western California, and southern coastal areas in open slopes, pine woodland, sand dunes, and disturbed areas at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from spring to early summer, this plant produces white to pale pink flowers with ovate petals that persist after flowering. Growing with slender stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall that are sometimes glandular-hairy, it spreads with a branched base and delicate structure. Its linear leaves are 1 to 5 centimeters long with blunt or pointed tips, often with margins strongly rolled underneath. Seeds are small, approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters in diameter, with distinctive white club-shaped papillae that give the plant its distinctive texture.

Habitat: Open slopes, pine woodland, sand dunes, fields, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Spring-early summer

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n SNH, GV, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Fresno, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Ventura, Solano, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Del Norte, Nevada, San Benito, Sutter, San Joaquin, Siskiyou, Plumas, Stanislaus, Yolo, Tuolumne

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