Cryptantha barbigera

Bearded cryptantha

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Bearded cryptantha is a California native annual herb found in foothill and mountain regions at moderate elevations. Flowering from spring to summer, this plant produces small white flowers with delicate, bristly inflorescences in clusters of one to three. Growing 15 to 50 centimeters tall with erect, stout stems covered in dense white hairs and spreading coarse bristles, it develops an intricate branching structure. Its leaves are oblong to blunt-lanceolate, densely covered with spreading bristles that have tiny bulbous bases, giving the plant a distinctively hairy appearance. The fruit consists of ovate nutlets with coarse elongated tubercles, creating a textured surface that ranges from brown to mottled in coloration.

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Tulare, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Fresno, Mono, Ventura, San Benito

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