TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

BORAGINACEAE

BORAGE FAMILY

Annual, perennial herb, shrubs, generally bristly or sharply hairy
Stem prostrate to erect
Leaves cauline, often with basal rosette, generally simple, alternate; lower sometimes opposite, entire
Inflorescence: cyme, generally elongate, panicle-, raceme- or spike-like, coiled in flower, generally uncoiled in fruit or flowers 1–2 per axil
Flowers generally bisexual, generally radial; sepals 5, free or fused in lower half; corolla 5-lobed, generally salverform, top of tube generally appendaged, appendages 5, alternating with stamens, sometimes arching over tube; stamens 5, epipetalous; ovary superior, generally 4-lobed, style generally entire
Fruit: nutlets 1–4, smooth to variously roughened, sometimes prickly or bristled
Genera in family: ± 100 genera, ± 2000 species: tropical, temp, especially w North America, Medit; some cultivated (Borago, Echium, Myosotis, Symphytum ). Almost all genera may be TOXIC from alkaloids or accumulated nitrates
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Hydrophyllaceae [Olmsted et al. 2000 Mol Phylog Evol 16:96–112]
Family description, key to genera by Timothy C. Messick.

CRYPTANTHA

Walter A. Kelley and Dieter H. Wilken

Annual, biennial, perennial herb
Stem simple or branched; branches generally ascending to erect, hairy
Leaves strigose, rough-hairy, or bristly, largest bristles (especially lower surface) bulbous-based; basal whorled; cauline generally opposite below, alternate above
Inflorescence generally terminal, generally elongated in fruit, open (flowers in fruit not overlapping or touching side to side) or dense (flowers in fruit overlapping or touching side to side)
Flower: sepals ± free; corolla generally white, tube generally 1–13 mm, appendages 5, white to yellow, limb 1–5 mm wide in annual, 6–12 mm wide in per; anthers included; ovary generally 4-lobed,
Fruit: nutlets 1–4, back generally grayish brown, smooth and shiny or granular, tubercled, or rough at 10X , margin rounded, sometimes sharp-edged, groove on inside surface narrow, open to closed, sometimes raised, edges inrolled to sharp-angled, generally forked or flared open at base
Species in genus: ± 160 species: w Am
Etymology: (Greek: hidden flowers, from cleistogamous flowers of some species)
Reference: [Higgins 1971 Brigham Young Sci Bull Biol Ser 13(4):1–63]
Annual species generally self-pollinating; per species homostylous or heterostylous. Many annual species difficult to separate; observation of nutlets and hairs requires magnification at 20X.

Native

C. holoptera (A. Gray) J.F. Macbr.

WINGED CRYPTANTHA

Annual (perennial herb), 10–50 cm
Stem generally branched throughout, strigose and bristly; bristles spreading to ascending, some bulbous-based
Leaf 1–3.5(5) cm, linear, narrowly lanceolate, or oblong, short-bristly; bristles spreading
Inflorescence generally dense in fruit; lowest flowers not touching
Flower: sepals < or = 2 mm, 2.5–3(4) mm and linear-oblong in fruit, densely bristly to rough-hairy, hairs spreading; corolla limb 1–2 mm wide
Fruit: nutlets 4, ± 1–2 mm, subequal, ovate to triangular, back and generally inner face sparsely tubercled, margin generally narrowly winged, groove opened widely below middle, edge generally elevated
Ecology: UNCOMMON. Sandy to rocky soils
Elevation: 100–1200 m.
Bioregional distribution: e Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: w Nevada, Arizona
Flowering time: Mar–Apr
Synonyms: C. inaequata I.M. Johnst