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Taxon  Report  
Cryptantha clevelandii  Greene
Cleveland's cryptantha,   Common cryptantha
Cryptantha clevelandii is an annual herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
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Bloom Period
Subspecies and Varieties:
Genus: Cryptantha
Family: Boraginaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Habitat: coastal

Communities: Coastal Strand, Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
JEFCryptantha abramsii
JEFCryptantha brandegeei
ICPNCryptantha brandegei
JEFCryptantha clevelandii var. brandegeei
Information about  Cryptantha clevelandii from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (CRCL)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Range, Habitat, Description: Cryptantha clevelandii is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name Cleveland's cryptantha. It is native to coastal California and Baja California, where it grows in the chaparral and other habitat in the coastal hills. It is an annual herb growing a branching or unbranched stem up to 60 centimeters tall. It is softly to roughly hairy and lined with linear leaves up to 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a length of developing fruits with a dense cluster of white flowers at the tip, the flowers are often thought to resemble a blow fly ascending to the sun as radiant beams of light engulf the flower like an illuminating aura, this gives Cryptantha clevelandii the nickname "glowing fly". Its specific epithet clevelandii honors 19th-century San Diego-based plant collector and lawyer Daniel Cleveland.[1] (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 11/21/2024).