[southwestdesertflora.com] Description, Habitat, Range: Duration: Annual Size: Up to 6 inches (15 cm) tall, more or less. Growth Form: Forb/herb; plants mostly wider than tall; taproots and lower parts of stems with red-purple dye; slender thread-like stems and branches, branching from mostly above; branching ascending or spreading to openly erect; plants covered with small appressed hairs (strigose). Leaves: Green; leaf blades variable, linear or oblong to oblanceolate; leaves without attaching stalks (sessile); relatively few leaves and scattered along stem; hairs short-bristly; leaves crowded at base near the flowering stalk or inflorescence; leaves quite small, less than 1 mm wide by ? to ? inches (3-8 mm) long. Flower Color: White, tiny flowers (corollas) funnelform with yellow secondary parts (appendage) in center; (inflorescence) 1 or 2 curving spikes not strongly resembling a scorpions tail (scorpioid) as with other Cryptantha species; fruit a nutlet. Flowering Season: March to June; in CA var. "micrantha" blooms February to June. Elevation: 500 to 7,000 feet (150-2,134 m). Habitat Preferences: Desert flats, washes, sandy to fine-gravelly soils; Creosote bush communities; in California; Creosote Bush Scrub, Yellow Pine Forest, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Coastal Sage Scrub. Recorded Range: Redroot Cryptantha, is found mostly in the southwestern United States with spotty distribution; AZ, CA, NM, NV, OR, TX, UT. In AZ Redroot Cryptantha is scattered throughout the state. This species is also native to Baja California and northwest Mexico. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)