Summary ²

Cryptantha crassisepala (common name thicksepal catseye) is a plant found in the southwestern United States.

Cryptantha ³

The scientific name is Cryptantha Crassiespala. A popular area where this plant likes to grow is in the western part of America and the Andean Mountains. This plant looks like a little cactus with white flowers on it. It is medicinal. People crush or boil the cryptantha leaves for an external use as a lotion for burns, fatigued limbs, or itching.

Its favorite habitat is sparsely vegetated soil in open forests at low to mid elevation. The animals that like to eat this plant are the Colorful Blister beetle, the Gray hairstreak butterfly, and bees. An interesting fact is that the name Cryptantha Crassiespala comes from the presence of flowers that never open and appear hidden.

References ³

www.swcoloradowildflowers.com
plants.usdagovcarepofilessymbols=CRYPT
www.sci.edu

By ³

David, age 13
Mario, age !3

Sources and Credits

1. (c) J. N. Stuart, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by James N. Stuart, http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartwildlife/3452867999/
2. Adapted by kristen_himm from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptantha_crassisepala
3. (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
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