Scientific Family
Hydrophyllaceae
Synonyms
Ellisia micrantha, Eucrypta pinetorum, Macrocalyx micranthus, Nyctelea micrantha, N. pinetorum, N. torreyi, Phacelia micrantha, P. pinetorum
Other common names
desert eucrypta
desert hideseed
small flowered eucrypta
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Similar species
Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia
Height
To 12 inches or less
Riparian
Yes
Aromatic plant with thin, hairy, densely glandular stems. Dark green leaves are feather-like, hairy, deeply divided into 7 to 9 very rounded lobes. Tiny bell-like bluish-purple or white flowers with yellow throats grow in loose clusters at the stem tips.
Delicate annual, does well in years of higher moisture; can form small mats, often in shade, dies back as soil dries. Leaves divided into 7 to 9 very rounded lobes; tiny bluish-purple flowers; hairy sepals enclose the capsule when mature; seeds all alike.
Habitat
Found in canyons, hillsides, rocky crevices, washes and slopes. Often found growing in the shade of shrubs and other sheltered areas and in moist soil. In years of abundant moisture it often forms colorful mats but dies quickly when the soil dries out.
Plant Community
Riparian
Interior Chaparral
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
4000
Flower Characteristics
Flowers grow in elongated clusters of 4 to 12 on short, hairy, glandular flower stalks; flower about 1/2 inch wide and has 5 united petals. There are 5 upright leaf-like rounded sepals (calyx) beneath the flower petals covered with glandular hairs.
Flower color
Bluish-purple or white, yellow throat
Flower shape
Bell-shaped
Tubular
No
First bloom month
February
Last bloom month
May
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Most of the leaves grow on the lower stem. These have an opposite attachment and leaf stalks that are winged (having a flat margin that extends outward). Leaves on the upper stem are smaller with an alternate attachment and ear-like clasping leaf stalks.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
Yes
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit is a green capsule 1/16 to 1/8 inch wide with short stiff hairs that is enclosed in the hairy leaf-like sepals beneath the flower. It splits into 2 seed-bearing structures (carpels) that are egg-shaped (but broader at the tip) to release seeds.
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit color
Green
The seed is about 1/16 inch, black or dark brown, oblong to egg-shaped and circular when immature. At maturity, it becomes curved-oblong and appears worm-like with rough, net-like indentations and diagonal ridges. There are 7 to 15 seeds per fruit.