Orthocarpus cuspidatus subsp. cryptanthus
Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native
Orthocarpus cuspidatus subsp. cryptanthus is a California native annual herb found in the northern Sierra Nevada, central Sierra Nevada, and Great Basin in drying meadows and open sagebrush at elevations of 1,500 to 3,200 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces small white to pale yellow flowers with a distinctive beak 3 to 4 millimeters long, partially hidden by its own bracts. Growing with delicate, slender stems up to 30 centimeters tall, it forms compact clusters in open grassland and sagebrush environments. Its leaves are narrow and closely arranged along the stem, typical of the genus Orthocarpus. The plant's unique floral structure includes small pouches 1 to 2 millimeters deep, giving it a distinctive appearance among annual wildflowers.
Habitat: Drying meadows, open sagebrush
Bloom period: Jun-Aug
Elevation: 1500-3200 m
Bioregions: CaRH, n&c SNH, GB
California counties: Modoc, Alpine, Tuolumne, Amador, Plumas, Mono, Sierra, Placer, Lassen, Butte, Shasta, Tehama, Nevada, El Dorado, Madera, Siskiyou
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.