Narrow-leaf Popcorn Flower
Cryptantha angustifolia
Photographed on a vacant lot in Phoenix, Arizona, USA in April 2007. This photo is hosted at Wikimedia where there are additional images of plants in the boraginaceae.
RANGE: Abundant
on creosote deserts following winter or spring rains.
LEAVES: Nearly linear leaves, like the rest of the foliage, are covered
in stiff, bristly hairs.
SEEDS: Each flower develops four single-seeded nutlets that separate
from one another. One nutlet, the one facing away from the stem, is larger than
the other three.
ANNUAL: A diminutive spring annual rarely exceding 15 cm and may grow
partially prostrate. There are a number of similar Cryptantha species found on the Sonoran Desert.
FLOWERS: White, five petaled flowers are minute. About a millimeter
in diameter. They are borne in a scorpioid inflorescence. Some specimens
may have petals up to 4 mm across.
UNARMED. The stiff bristles make this plant uncomfortable to the
touch.