Cryptantha traskiae

Trask's cryptantha

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Trask's cryptantha is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found on San Clemente and San Nicolas islands in rocky, gravelly, and occasionally sandy open sites at elevations of 5 to 200 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces small white flowers with delicate corolla limbs approximately 1.5 to 2 millimeters in diameter. Growing 5 to 20 centimeters tall with slender, erect stems branching throughout and covered in strigose hairs, it appears delicate and sparse. Its linear to narrow-oblong leaves measure 0.5 to 2 centimeters long, covered in rough ascending hairs with sparse bristles emerging from bulbous bases. The fruit consists of 3 to 4 small nutlets, each 1.2 to 1.4 millimeters long, mottled brown and slightly flattened with a rounded margin.

Habitat: Rocky, gravelly, to sandy open sites, occasionally stabilized dunes

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: 5-200 m

Bioregions: s ChI (San Clemente, San Nicolas islands).

California counties: Los Angeles, Ventura

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