Spergularia villosa

Hairy sand-spurrey

Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Hairy sand-spurrey is a naturalized perennial found in coastal and southern California regions, including the North Coast Ranges, Sacramento Valley, Central Coast, Southern Coast, southern Channel Islands, and Peninsular Ranges in sandy slopes, bluffs, and disturbed areas at elevations below 450 meters. Flowering in spring, this plant produces delicate white flowers with conspicuous lanceolate white stipules. Growing with stout stems 0.5 to 2 millimeters in diameter, it forms dense clusters with multiple leaves per axillary cluster. Its leaves are not fleshy, with 2 to 4 leaves clustered in each leaf axil, featuring stipules 3 to 8 millimeters long with acuminate tips. The fruit is 4 to 6.5 millimeters long, producing small reddish-brown seeds that are often winged.

Habitat: Sandy slopes, bluffs, clay ridges, plains, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Spring

Elevation: < 450 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, ScV, CCo, SCo, s ChI, PR

California counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Alameda, Ventura, San Diego, Amador, Contra Costa, Fresno, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Riverside, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Tuolumne, Sutter, Nevada, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Napa, Tulare, Placer, Santa Cruz

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