Wingnut Cryptantha
Cryptantha pterocarya
Enlarged view of fruit showing four nutlets which have a toothed wing. Photographed in Maricopa Co., Arizona. March 17, 2008. I have contributed a higher resolution image of C. pterocarya nutlets to the Wikimedia Commons.
This flowering specimen was found at Vulture Peak southwest of Wickenburg, Arizona.
FRUIT: Four nutlets each with a prominent toothed wing. Otherwise the
plant is very similar in appearance to the many other species of Cryptantha
in the Sonoran Desert.
ANNUAL: Mid-spring annual normally not more than
30 cm tall. Several to many stems from base. Stems are bristly,
strigose. Not apparent in drought years.
LEAVES: Leaves are elliptic to linear and have many long whitish, stiff
hairs.
RANGE: Frequent in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico. Also
ranging into adjacent deserts to east, north and west. Rocky slopes and along
washes.
FLOWERS: White flowers are fairly large as compared to other Cryptantha
in the Sonoran Desert. Corolla is five-lobed.
UNARMED. No thorns.
Boraginaceae -- Borage Family
Sponsored Links:
More Information:
- Southwest Environmental Information Network
- Southwest Colorado Wildflowers
- USDA Plant Profile
- ITIS Taxonomic Report
- Google Images
- Google Scholar Literature Search