Greeneocharis circumscissa

Cushion cryptantha

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Cushion cryptantha is a California native annual found in rocky or desert habitats at low elevations. Flowering from March to May, this tiny plant produces white to pale yellow flowers less than 2 millimeters in diameter, forming dense clusters. Growing as a compact cushion-like plant just 0.5 to 10 centimeters wide, it develops slender branches covered in stiff, ascending hairs. Its small leaves, measuring 0.3 to 1.5 centimeters long, are rough-textured with spreading or ascending hairs. The distinctive fruit features nutlets with a unique circumscissile calyx that splits cup-like around the middle.

California counties: San Bernardino, Ventura, San Diego, Riverside, Lassen, Los Angeles, Kern, Mono, Inyo, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Modoc, Butte, San Luis Obispo, Plumas, Tuolumne, Imperial, Fresno, Alameda, Nevada, El Dorado, Alpine

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