Spergularia marina

Saltmarsh sand-spurrey

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Saltmarsh sand-spurrey is a delicate California native annual found in northern coastal, central Sierra Nevada foothills, Great Valley, coastal California, San Francisco Bay, southern California, Channel Islands, Peninsular Ranges, and desert regions in mud flats, salt marshes, and sandy coastal areas at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from March to September, this plant produces white to pink or rosy flowers in small glandular-hairy clusters. Growing with extremely slender stems less than 2 millimeters thick, it forms a delicate, low-growing herb. Its leaves are fleshy with small, dull white triangular stipules, creating a subtle, compact appearance. The fruit is 3 to 6 millimeters long, containing light brown to red-brown seeds with minimal wing development.

Habitat: Mud flats, alkaline fields, sandy river bottoms, sandy coasts, salt marshes

Bloom period: Mar-Sep

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, c SNF, GV, CCo, SnFrB, SCo, ChI, PR, D

California counties: Kern, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Humboldt, Santa Barbara, Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Fresno, Inyo, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Tulare, Sonoma, Napa, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Shasta, Stanislaus, Yolo, Colusa, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Kings, Del Norte, Madera, Sacramento, Sutter

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