''Cryptantha confertiflora'' is a species of wildflower in the

borage family Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the orde ...

known by the common names basin yellow catseye and Mojave popcorn flower. This is a common desert plant native to the southwestern United States. It is an erect perennial herb approaching half a meter in height. The stems grow from a woody

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a Plant stem, stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, " ...

and form a rough clump of hairy, bristly gray-green leaves in dry, rocky areas. Out of the clump grow erect stems topped with dense

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s of hairy mustard-yellow flowers. Each flower is tubular with

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s wrapped around the tube below a flat-faced or curled-back corolla of five lobes. The fruit is a

nutlet A nut is a fruit consisting of a hard or tough nutshell protecting a kernel which is usually edible. In general usage and in a culinary sense, a wide variety of dry seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context "nut" implies that the sh ...

3 to 4 millimeters wide.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
confertiflora Plants described in 1896 {{Asterid-stub