Home/Species/ Desert Cryptantha

Cryptantha scoparia

A. Nels.

Desert Cryptantha

G4Apparently Secure (G4?) Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.129825

Element CodePDBOR0A2Q0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderLamiales

FamilyBoraginaceae

GenusCryptantha

Other Common Names

Pinyon Desert cryptantha (EN) Pinyon Desert Cryptantha (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Review Date2001-05-15

Change Date1999-10-04

Edition Date1988-01-19

Edition AuthorsNeighbours, M.L. (1988); rev. G. Thunhorst (1999)

Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences6 - 20

Rank Reasons

Patchy distribution over a wide range in the western United States; apparently secure in the center of the range.

Range Extent Comments

Snake River plains of Idaho, extending into adjacent Oregon, Nevada, and Utah. Cronquist reports disjuncts on the Salmon River in Idaho and in Yakima Co., Washington. Also known from SW Wyoming and NW Colorado.

Ecology & Habitat

Description

Miner's Candle is a slender annual herb with simple or branched stems that are 5-15 cm high. The alternate, narrow, strap-shaped leaves are 2-4 cm long; those at the base are usually brown by the time the plant is fruiting. Stems are sparsely covered with straight hairs appressed to the surface, while the leaves have some spreading hairs. Tiny, white flowers are borne on coiled stalks that unwind and elongate as flowering progresses from the base upward. The corolla is ca. 1 mm high and has a small united portion below and 5 spreading petals above. The narrow calyx is covered with bristly hairs and becomes 4-6 mm long in fruit. The 4 lance-shaped nutlets are ca. 2 mm long, ca 0.5 mm wide, and are finely bumpy.

Diagnostic Characteristics

Annual species of CRYPTANTHA are distinguished by characters of the seeds, so a hand lens or microscope is essential. C. SCOPARIA is distinguished by having 4 similar nutlets that are covered with fine bumps and that are ca. 4 times as long as they are wide.

Habitat

Dry open slopes in mixed desert shrub, sagebrush, and pinyon -juniper communities, 4750-6250 feet.

Other Nations (1)

United StatesNNR

Province	Rank	Native
Wyoming	S2	Yes
Oregon	SNR	Yes
Washington	S2	Yes
Colorado	S1	Yes
Utah	S1	Yes
California	S4	Yes
Idaho	SNR	Yes
Montana	S2	Yes
Nevada	S4	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (4)

California (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Andrews Mtn.	Inyo National Forest	9,912
Birch Creek	Inyo National Forest	28,816
Black Canyon	Inyo National Forest	32,421
Soldier Canyon	Inyo National Forest	40,589

References (2)

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Lesica, P. and P. L. Achuff. 1992. Distribution of vascular plant species of special concern and limited distribution in the Pryor Mountain desert, Carbon County, Montana. Unpublished report to the Bureau of Land Management. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 105 pp.