Cryptantha dumetorum

Scrambling cryptantha, Scrambling Cryptantha

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Scrambling cryptantha is a California native annual herb found on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, eastern Tehachapi, northern Transverse Ranges, southern Sierra Nevada eastern slopes, Mojave Desert, and northern Sonoran Desert in sandy soils, dunes, and slopes at elevations of 250 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces small white flowers in delicate, sparse cymes. Growing with sprawling, prostrate to ascending stems 10 to 60 centimeters long, it has brittle branches covered in stiff, ascending hairs. Its linear to lanceolate leaves are 0.5 to 3 centimeters long, slightly succulent and rough-textured with sparse ascending hairs. The fruit consists of four distinctive nutlets, with one larger lance-ovate nutlet and three smaller lanceolate nutlets that are white-tubercled and dull.

Habitat: Sandy soils, dunes, slopes, or occasionally gravelly washes, generally under/on other plants

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 250-1400 m

Bioregions: SNH (e slope), e Teh, TR (n slope), s SNE, DMoj, n DSon

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, Inyo, San Diego, Los Angeles, Imperial, San Luis Obispo, Monterey

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