Cryptantha crassisepala

(Thicksepal Cryptantha)

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Cryptantha crassisepala, Four Mile Area, Chaffee Co. 9671

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Cryptantha crassisepala, Four Mile Area, Chaffee Co. 9680

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Cryptantha crassisepala, Four Mile Area, Chaffee Co. 9768

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Cryptantha crassisepala, Four Mile Area, Chaffee Co. 9779

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Cryptantha crassisepala, Four Mile Area, Chaffee Co. 9774

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Cryptantha crassisepala, Four Mile Area, Chaffee Co. 9778

Scientific Name Cryptantha crassisepala USDA PLANTS Symbol CRCR3
Common Name Thicksepal Catseye, Thicksepal Cryptantha ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. 31800
Family Boraginaceae (Forget-me-not) SEINet
Reference
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Description Life zones and habitat: Plains and foothills (4000 to 7500 ft.); dry sandy or gravelly soils; dunes, slopes, grasslands.
Plant: Short annual, 4 to 6 inches tall; several to many spreading stems with pungent bristles.
Leaves: Very bristly leaves clustered at base and alternate on stems; sessile, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, up to 2 inches long and less than 1/4-inch wide near base, becoming smaller upward.
Inflorescence: Very small white flowers, 1/8-inch across, in dense curled spikes (scorpioide cymes) surrounded by a calyx less than 0.1 inch long, of thick, bristly sepals with prominent ribs; blossoms have 5 rounded lobes; no bracts below cymes. Cymes open and elongate up to 6 inches long as plant matures.
Bloom Period: April to June.
References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield, "Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas" by Correll and Johnston and SEINet.
BONAP Distribution Map


Map Color Key
Colorado Status:
Native

© Tom Lebsack 2024

Banner photo: Ten Mile Range and Rhodiola integrifolia (King’s Crown) in Summit County