Plants of Southern California: Cryptantha micrantha var. lepida and C. similis
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| Fig. 1. Left: Cryptantha micrantha var. lepida. Right: C. similis. Note the softer appearance of C. micrantha var. lepida, with shorter and wider leaves, without a terminal robust bristle, compared to the more bristly linear leaves of C. similis that have a terminal robust bristle. Click on the pictures for larger versions. | ||
Table of Contents
Introduction
Geographic Distribution of These Taxa
Photographs
Introduction
This page discusses and show pictures of the difference between Cryptantha similis and C. micrantha var. lepida, and gives the voucher distributions of these taxa.
The killer distinction between these two species is that C. similis has a circumscissile corolla, which means that the top of the calyx comes off in fruit to release the nutlets (=seeds); see the pix at the bottom of this page. The calyx of C. micrantha var. lepida remains in one piece in fruit, with the calyx lobes spreading apart to release its nutlets. However, a circumscissile calyx is essentially impossible to observe in young plants, and even somewhat difficult in middle-aged plants. (Cryptanthas often have a difference in the color of the calyx between the top part and the bottom part whether or not the calyx is circumscissile, so that color difference can not be relied on to indicate a circumscissile calyx.)
Fortunately, these two species are nearly completely disjunct, growing in different regions of southern California, and have different appearances on close examination.
Young plants can be distinguished by their leaves, with C. micrantha var. lepida having a softer appearance from its more appressed and softer hairs compared to the more bristly leaves of C. similis. The tips of the leaves are different; C. similis has a robust terminal bristle which is absent in the leaf tip of C. micrantha var. lepida. The shape of the leaves is usually different as well, with C. micrantha var. lepida having shorter and wider leaves, that are noticeably wider near their tips, compared to the linear leaves of C. similis. Fig. 1 illustrates these differences.
Mature robust plants are easily distinguished by their shape, with C. similis a much more matted plant.
Geographic Distribution of These Taxa
Fig. 2 shows the voucher distribution of these two taxa, from a search of the Consortium of California Herbaria on 1 May 2014.
These taxa have an almost completely disjunct distribution, with C. similis confined to the western Mojave Desert, and C. micrantha var. lepida almost completely confined to SnBr and the PR. However, note the scattering of vouchers of C. micrantha var. lepida to the north and west of SnBr and the PR.
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| Fig. 2. Geographic distribution of C. micrantha var. lepida (left) and C. similis (right). Click on the maps for larger versions. | ||
Photographs
Photographs of C. similis are shown below. For photographs of C. micrantha var. lepida, see Plant Species of the Borrego Desert: Boraginaceae: Cryptantha micrantha, red-root cryptantha.
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| Fig. 3. Photographs of C. similis. Click on the pictures for larger versions. | ||
Voucher data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria.