Spergularia platensis var. platensis

La plata sand-spurrey

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

La plata sand-spurrey is a naturalized annual found in southern California coastal, South Coast, and Peninsular Ranges regions on dried or brackish mud flats and adobe mesas at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering in early spring, this delicate plant produces white flowers with 3 to 5 stamens in small clusters. Growing with slender stems less than 1 millimeter in diameter, it forms a compact, low-growing structure. Its leaves are not fleshy, with tiny inconspicuous white stipules about 1.5 to 3.5 millimeters long and deltate in shape. The fruit is small, measuring 1.4 to 2.6 millimeters long, with seeds featuring a distinctive worm-like surface texture and minute cup-shaped papillae.

Habitat: Uncommon. Dried or brackish mud flats, adobe mesas

Bloom period: Early spring

Elevation: < 400 m

Bioregions: ScV, SCo, PR

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