Cryptantha pterocarya var. stenoloba

Narrow-lobed cryptantha

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.1

Narrow-lobed cryptantha is a rare (CNPS 2B.1) California native annual found in sandy regions of desert areas at elevations of 130 to 550 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces small white flowers with delicate, lance-shaped calyx lobes. Growing with stout stems 12 to 22 centimeters tall, often branching multiple times from the base, it forms a sparse basal rosette. Its leaves are sparse, with the plant characterized by asymmetrical nutlets that have distinctive wing-like margins on some seeds. The fruits develop intriguing winged nutlets with tubercled surfaces, some with rounded margins and others featuring flat lobed wings over half a millimeter wide.

Habitat: Sandy soils, stabilized sand dunes, mixed desert scrub

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 130-550 m

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