Cryptantha corollata
Coast range cryptantha, Coast Range Cryptantha
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Family: Boraginaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Cryptantha corollata (Coast range cryptantha) is a native California herb in the Boraginaceae family, recognized by 38 co-occurring species. Key features: large flowers with yellow appendages, typically 1 large nutlet, raised scar edges at tip.
Coast range cryptantha is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi, southern San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coast Ranges, and western Transverse Ranges in dry, rocky slopes, grasslands, chaparral, and foothill woodlands at elevations of 200 to 1,450 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces white flowers with yellow appendages approximately 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter. Growing with slender erect stems 10 to 45 centimeters tall, it branches sparsely and is covered with appressed hairs and occasional spreading bristles near the base. Its leaves are 1 to 4 centimeters long, oblong to narrow oblanceolate, with margins edged by minute soft bristles with bulbous bases. The fruit consists of one or occasionally two nutlets, lance-ovate and dense-papillate, about 2.2 to 2.5 millimeters long with a truncate base and short-acuminate tip.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 38 co-occurring species. Key features: large flowers with yellow appendages, typically 1 large nutlet, raised scar edges at tip.
Habitat and range
Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes, ridges, generally metamorphic or sedimentary based substrates, occasionally on serpentine, grassland, chaparral, foothill woodland
Elevation: 200-1450 m
Bloom period
Cryptantha corollata blooms Mar-Jun.
How to tell it apart
vs Plagiobothrys: Seeds have a groove down the inner face, not a raised ridge like Plagiobothrys.; vs Johnstonella: Cryptantha nutlets have grooves; Johnstonella nutlets lack distinct grooves on inner face.; vs Eremocarya: Cryptantha has grooved nutlets; Eremocarya nutlets are smooth without grooves.; vs Phacelia: Cryptantha has coiled flower clusters; Phacelia flowers are in looser, more open arrangements.; vs Pectocarya: Seeds lack the comb-like marginal barbs that give Pectocarya its combseed name.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cryptantha corollata native to California?
Yes. Cryptantha corollata is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Cryptantha corollata bloom?
Cryptantha corollata blooms Mar-Jun.
What plant family does Cryptantha corollata belong to?
Cryptantha corollata is in the Boraginaceae family, genus Cryptantha.
What habitat does Cryptantha corollata grow in?
Cryptantha corollata grows in Dry, rocky slopes, ridges, generally metamorphic or sedimentary based substrates, occasionally on serpentine, grassland, chaparral, foothill woodland.
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.