Cryptantha barbigera var. fergusoniae

Palm springs cryptantha, Palm Springs Cryptantha

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Palm springs cryptantha is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada (eastern slope), northern Santa Barbara Mountains, eastern Peninsular Range, southern Sierra Nevada, and Deserts in granitic, often sandy substrates at elevations of 150 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white flowers with yellow appendages in small clusters, delicately scented. Growing with slender stems up to 15 centimeters tall, it forms loose, spreading clusters. Its narrow leaves measure 1 to 4 centimeters long, with sparse soft hairs along the margins. The fruit consists of 3 or 4 lance-ovate nutlets, each about 2 millimeters long with a tapered tip.

Habitat: Generally granitic, often sandy substrates

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 150-1500 m

Bioregions: s SNH (e slope), n SnBr, e PR, s SNE, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo, Kern, Imperial, San Diego

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