Cryptantha simulans

Pine cryptantha

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Pine cryptantha is a California native annual herb found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountains, Transverse Ranges, eastern Peninsular Ranges, and Modoc Plateau in dry gravelly sites and open conifer forests at elevations of 450 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces small white flowers in delicate cymes with narrow petals. Growing 5 to 45 centimeters tall with erect, slender pale green stems that branch few and stiffly, it has a distinctive strigose hair covering. Its scattered linear to narrow-oblanceolate leaves feature fine ascending bristles with bulbous bases, giving the plant a delicate, textured appearance. The fruit consists of 3 or 4 grayish nutlets that are wide-ovate, flattened, and densely papillate with a dull surface.

Habitat: dry gravelly sites, disturbed areas, generally open conifer forest

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: (250)450-2600 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaR, n SNF, SNH, Teh, TR, e PR, MP

California counties: Fresno, El Dorado, Santa Barbara, Mariposa, Kern, Lassen, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Diego, Sierra, Tuolumne, Nevada, Modoc, Tehama, Tulare, Trinity, Riverside, Plumas, Madera, Amador, Mono, Calaveras, Butte, Shasta, Glenn, Siskiyou, Colusa, Alameda, Placer, Alpine, Humboldt, Mendocino, Kings

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