silky cryptantha

Cryptantha crinita is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names Sacramento cryptantha and silky cryptantha. It is endemic to California in the United States, where it occurs in the northern Sacramento Valley and the adjacent edges of the Cascade Range foothills.

This annual herb grows up to 30 or 40 centimeters in height. The branching stem and leaves are covered in hairs. The lance-shaped to oblong leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a dense, coiled cyme of several flowers with soft-hairy sepals and white corollas. Blooming occurs in April and May.