Images
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Morphology
- Stem
- Decumbent to ascending, branching from base, bristly-hairy; branches crowded.
- Leaves
- Alternate, simple, mostly sessile, linear to lanceolate, .4 to 1.2 inch long, to 1/8 inch wide, stiff-hairy; margins entire, tips pointed to rounded.
- Inflorescence
- Cyme, 1 to 5 inches long, elongate and raceme-like with age, terminal on branches; no bractlets at bases of flowers.
- Flower
- Sepals 5, equal, lanceolate; calyx in fruit 1/8 to 1/4 inch long, bristly-hairy; bristles translucent, to 1/12 inch long; corolla 1/25 to 1/12 inch wide, 5-lobed, white, throat appendages sometimes yellow; stamens 5.
- Fruit
- Nutlets 4, covered with minute bumps; each containing single seed.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Sand-sage prairie, prairie slopes, prairie-dog towns; dry, sandy or silty soils.
- Distribution
- West 1/2 of Kansas
Practical Information
- Uses
- Native Americans considered the plant to be a poisonous weed, but crushed and boiled the plant and applied it as a lotion for itching, boils, and fatigued limbs.
Additional Notes
Comments
Cryptantha crassisepala strongly resembles Cryptantha minima but the latter species has bractlets at the bases of the flowers.
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Boraginaceae - Borage Family
- Life Span
- Annual
- Height
- To 6 inches tall
- Origin
- Native
- Last Updated
- 2009-03-28
Color Groups
White, Green & Greenish White Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: May, June, July