Oreocarya tumulosa
New york mountains oreocarya, New York Mountains Cryptantha
Family: Boraginaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 4.3
New york mountains oreocarya is a rare (CNPS 4.3) California native perennial found in eastern Mojave Desert and northern and eastern Parapeak Mountains in limestone and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations of 1,400 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces pale yellow flowers in dense, narrow cylindric clusters with soft yellow bristles. Growing with multiple stems 7 to 25 centimeters tall, it forms dense, woody, branched caudexes covered in spreading yellow-tinted tomentose hairs. Its basal leaves form multiple rosettes 3 to 6 centimeters long, thick and oblanceolate, with a distinctive gray color and dense silky texture covered in appressed bristles. The fruit consists of 1 to 3 wide-ovate nutlets 3 to 4 millimeters long, with a dull gray surface and sharp-angled margins.
Habitat: Limestone, occasionally granitic gravel or clay soils, generally pinyon/juniper woodland
Bloom period: Apr-Jun
Elevation: 1400-2100 m
Bioregions: e DMoj, n&e DMtns
California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.