Page authors: Don Knoke, David Giblin
Cryptantha scoparia
pinyon desert cat's-eye, desert cryptantha
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central Washington to California, east to Idaho, Utah, and Nevada.

Habitat: Dry, open slopes in the valleys, plains and foothills, common among sagebrush.

Flowers: May-July

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Annual

Conservation Status: Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)

Pollination: Bees, flies, wasps

Description:
General:

Slender annual, 0.5-3 dm. tall, freely branched and without a well-defined central axis; herbage appressed-hairy.

Leaves:

Leaves scattered, linear, the hairs rising from blisters.

Flowers:

Inflorescence of paired, naked spikes; fruiting calyx narrow, 4-6 mm. long, closely ascending, bristly; corolla white, about 1 mm. wide; style equaling the nutlets.

Fruits:

Nutlets usually 4, lanceolate, about 2 mm. long and 0.6 mm. wide, covered with short, blunt projections, attached to the style.

Accepted Name:
Cryptantha scoparia A. Nelson
Publication: Botanical Gazette 54(2): 144-145. 1912.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
(none provided)
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Cryptantha scoparia in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.

WA Flora Checklist: Cryptantha scoparia checklist entry.

OregonFlora: Cryptantha scoparia information.

E-Flora BC: Cryptantha scoparia atlas page.

CalPhotos: Cryptantha scoparia photos.

USDA Plants: Cryptantha scoparia information.

4 photographs:
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