Cryptantha crassipes

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Cryptantha crassipes

Critically Imperiled (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
(unplaced)
Family:
Boraginaceae
Genus:
Cryptantha
Species:
C. crassipes
Binomial name
Cryptantha crassipes

Cryptantha crassipes is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name Terlingua Creek cat's-eye. It is endemic to Brewster County, Texas, where it is known from only ten populations totaling about 5000 plants.[1] All of the occurrences are within a ten-kilometer radius.[2] This is a federally listed endangered species.

Description[]

This is a perennial herb producing several erect stems reaching a maximum height around 25 centimeters. There is a clump of basal leaves around the stem bases. The herbage is covered in silvery soft and bristly hairs. The inflorescence is a head of yellow-throated white flowers.[2] The plants are often coated in a sooty black fungus.[1]

Distribution and habitat[]

This plant grows only on the , a small geologic formation in the Terlingua Creek watershed just north of Big Bend National Park.[1][3] This lentil is a unique expanse of limestone rock which is rich in gypsum and bound with clay. The formation, which locals call a"moonscape",[3] is pale yellow in color because of its mineral makeup and about 50 feet thick.[4] The chalky rock breaks into plates and contains many fossils. The area is very dry and it receives full, hot sunlight.[1][2][5] The lentil is almost totally devoid of plant life; this species and other hardy plants, such as and , occur around the edge of the lentil.[1][2]

The rare plant is limited to a specific substrate. The area is affected by human activity in several ways. The land is all privately owned and unprotected. Off-road vehicles drive on the badlands, which are used both in the mining of bentonite and for access in the grazing of livestock in the area.[1][2]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Cryptantha crassipes. Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Cryptantha crassipes. The Nature Conservancy.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Cryptantha crassipes. Texas Parks and Wildlife.
  4. ^ USGS. Geologic Unit: Fizzle Flat. National Geologic Map Database.
  5. ^ USFWS. Final rule to list the plant Cryptantha crassipes (Terlingua Creek Cat’s-eye) as endangered. Federal Register September 30, 1991.

External links[]

Further reading[]

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