Species: Cryptantha kelseyana Greene

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Cryptantha kelseyana Greene

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Boraginaceae

Genus:

Cryptantha

Species Synonyms:

none

Common Names:

Kelsey’s cryptantha
Kelseys cryptantha

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

southern Alberta - southern Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan:

southern Saskatchewan; Alsask - Alameda

Ecoregion:

Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland, Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

dry silty grasslands, southeast-facing slopes

Associated Species:

Chenopodium leptophyllum, Cryptantha fendleri, Lappula occidentalis, Plantago patagonica, Vulpia octoflora

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G4 N1 S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Cryptantha kelseyana is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. It is somewhat regionally restricted to the southern portion of the province. In addition, most local populations are small and some may be threatened by development and habitat loss.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

10 – 25 cm

Roots:

taproot slender

Stem:

annual, diffusely branched, slender, strigose or spreading setose

Leaves:

cauline, lacking conspicuous tufts of basal leaves, alternate, sessile, to 3 cm long, 1 – 5 mm wide, linear to oblanceolate, apex acute, setose-hispid and pustulate above and below

Inflorescence:

cyme monochasic, spicata, elongate and racemous in age; bracteate only below, bracts lacking in upper flowers

Flower:

minute, inconspicuous, hidden by pubescence; calyx short, 4 – 7 mm long, midrib not indurate or whitened, hairy; corolla limbs < 2 mm, inconspicuous, white

Fruits:

nutlets heteromorphic, one large and smooth, three small and tuberculate; calyx closed in fruit

CRYPTANTHA KEY FOR VARIETIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Perennial; taproot woody; stems simple or branched from base; conspicuous tuft of basal leaves; inflorescence a raceme of cymose clusters; corolla 6 – 11 mm wide, conspicuous	C. celosioides
1 Annual; taproot slender; stems often diffusely branched; lacking conspicuous tuft of basal leaves; monochasic cymes spike-like; corolla less than 2 mm wide, minute	2

2 Inflorescence bracteate throughout, bracts longer than calyx; calyx lobes long with thick, indurate, whitish mid-nerves	C. minima
2 Inflorescence bracteate only below, bracts not conspicuous, lacking in upper flowers; calyx lobes short, neither whitened nor thickened	3

3 Nutlets not heteromorphic, all smooth or nearly so	C. fendleri
3 Nutlets heteromorphic, one large and smooth, three smaller and tuberculate	C. kelseyana