Valerianella carinata
Corn salad
(c) Eleftherios Katsillis, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Eleftherios Katsillis · licence
Family: Valerianaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native
Valerianella carinata (Corn salad) is a non-native California herb in the Valerianaceae family.
Corn salad is a naturalized annual found in northern Sierra Nevada Foothills in moist, generally shaded sites at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering in May, this plant produces white flowers with blue lobes in tiny clusters. Growing with slender stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall and sparsely covered with downward-pointing hairs, it develops delicate branching stems. Its leaves range from 4 to 30 millimeters long, with lower leaves having stalks and upper leaves nearly stalkless, featuring obovate to narrow oblong shapes that are mostly entire with occasional teeth. The fruit is small, approximately 2 to 3 millimeters long and 1 to 1.5 millimeters wide.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 1 sympatric species; fruit width is key differentiator (1-1.5mm vs 1.5-2mm)
Habitat and range
Habitat: Moist, generally shaded sites
Elevation: < 700 m
Outside California: to Washington, Idaho, native to Europe
Bloom period
Valerianella carinata blooms May.
How to tell it apart
vs Plectritis: Valerianella forks repeatedly in symmetrical pattern; Plectritis has simple or few-branched stem.; vs Scandix: Valerianella has tiny flowers and symmetrical forking; Scandix has umbrella-like flower clusters with long beaked fruits.; vs Centranthus: Valerianella is delicate annual with candelabra branching; Centranthus is robust perennial with simple stems.; vs Valeriana: Valerianella is annual with simple leaves; Valeriana is perennial with compound fern-like leaves.
Frequently asked questions
Is Valerianella carinata native to California?
No. Valerianella carinata is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Valerianella carinata bloom?
Valerianella carinata blooms May.
What plant family does Valerianella carinata belong to?
Valerianella carinata is in the Valerianaceae family, genus Valerianella.
What habitat does Valerianella carinata grow in?
Valerianella carinata grows in Moist, generally shaded sites.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.