Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Large-flowered sand-spurrey (Spergularia macrotheca var. macrotheca) is a low perennial in the Caryophyllaceae or pink/carnation family. It forms a spreading mat of light-green or gray-green stems, with fleshy leaves. Itblooms with profuse star-shaped pink and white blooms in spring and through the summer. 

This plant grows in salt flats, marshes, dunes, rocky outcrops, coastal bluffs, floodplains, vernal pools and alkaline fields. Along the coast, it can often be found just above the high tide line, well within the salt spray zone.

As a garden plant, it is drought tolerant and needs good drainage.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Plant communities

Wetland-Riparian