Common name:
Little wiry suncup
Family:
Scientific name:
Camissonia pusilla
Main flower color:
Range:
Nevada, parts of all adjoining states, and Washington
Height:
Up to 9 inches
Habitat:
Sagebrush, grassland, foothills, sandy locations; up to 9,000 feet
Leaves:
Alternate, cauline, linear, up to 1.2 inches long
Season:
April to June
Camissonia pusilla is found mostly in California; in Owens Valley and scattered regions of the Mojave Desert, but also occurs in small colonies across Nevada, and adjacent states. As the common name suggests this is a small species, with a slender, reddish stem and narrow, linear leaves, all covered by short, spreading, glandular hairs. Leaf margins are minutely toothed. Leaves may be folded up along the axis.
The four, lance-shaped sepals are not fused, and are reflexed back against the hairy, red pedicel. The yellow petals are slightly longer (though still small; up to 0.1 inches), and they are held at about 90 degrees when fully open. Petals have two red spots near the base, and they become reddish as they wither. The fruit is a narrow, cylindrical pod, up to 1.3 inches long, sometimes slightly wavy.
The four, lance-shaped sepals are not fused, and are reflexed back against the hairy, red pedicel. The yellow petals are slightly longer (though still small; up to 0.1 inches), and they are held at about 90 degrees when fully open. Petals have two red spots near the base, and they become reddish as they wither. The fruit is a narrow, cylindrical pod, up to 1.3 inches long, sometimes slightly wavy.
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