Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Small herbaceous annual, appressed bristly to rough hairy, most hairs bulbous towards the base, simple to branching, often growing in small bunches.

Leaves: Cauline, simple, entire, linear to lanceolate, surfaces appressed bristly to rough hairy, basal leaves whorled, opposite near the base, becoming alternate as one moves up the stem.

Flowers: Tiny, borne in cymes, dense when fruiting, appendages 5, white to yellow, the stiff hairs covering the inflorescence sometimes long and soft, tube 1-13 mm, anthers included, ovary 4-lobed.

Fruits: Fruit 1-2 lanceolate nutlets, generally smooth, white granular.

Ecology: Found in dry, sandy, open areas in grasslands and scrublands, to 5,000 ft (1524 m); flowering March-May.

Distribution: s CA, s NV, AZ; south to nw MEX.

Notes: The Cryptantha are fairly difficult to tell apart, the keys to this species are the cymes which are very dense in fruit, compared to C. decipiens, which is open to somewhat dense in fruit. Also look for the hairs which cover the plant to be bulbous at the base for C. maritima. Note that the nutlets can be totally smooth or they can be covered by tiny white bumps.

Synonyms: Krynitzkia maritima

Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011

Etymology: Cryptantha comes from the Greek krypto, "hidden," and anthos, "flower," a reference to the first described species in the genus which has inconspicuous flowers that self-fertilize without opening; maritima means "of the sea".