Eremocarya micrantha var. micrantha

Desert red-root

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Desert red-root is a California native annual found in southwestern California (excluding Channel Islands), southeastern Sierra Nevada, and desert regions in sandy washes and fine-gravelly soils at elevations below 1,900 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces white flowers with delicate, minute appendages in small clusters. Growing as a low, spreading plant 2.5 to 10 centimeters tall, with branches emerging from the base and extending wider than its height. Its leaves are small and compact, adapting to the sparse desert environment. The fruit consists of tiny nutlets less than 1.2 millimeters long with a sharp, acute tip.

Habitat: Desert flats, washes, sandy to fine-gravelly soils

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: < 1900 m

Bioregions: SW (exc ChI), SNE, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Diego, Kern, Mono, Imperial

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