Common name:
Smooth pucoon
Family:
Scientific name:
Lithospermum cobrense
Main flower color:
Range:
Arizona, New Mexico, and the Davis Mountains of far west Texas
Height:
Up to 15 inches
Habitat:
Open woodland, meadows, from 5,000 to 9,000 feet
Leaves:
Basal and cauline, linear, alternate, sessile, up to 2 inches long, with rolled-under margins and a covering of appressed hairs
Season:
June to August
Lithospermum cobrense is most common in Arizona, in the hills around Nogales and along the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau; its range extends into New Mexico and Texas. Leaves grow at the base, in a rosette (persistent at flowering), and at closely-spaced intervals along the stem - cauline leaves are shorter. Stem and leaves are covered by appressed hairs, and leaf margins are ciliate.
Flowers are relatively large; a pale to deep yellow, funnel-shaped corolla opening to five rounded lobes, with included stamens. The calyx is deeply divided into five unnotched, oblong lobes, with ciliate edges and a lighter-colored midvein. The corolla tube is similar in length to the calyx. The inside of the corolla tube is covered by short yellowish hairs, while the outside is hairless; this is one factor that distinguishes this species from lithospermum multiflorum.
Flowers are relatively large; a pale to deep yellow, funnel-shaped corolla opening to five rounded lobes, with included stamens. The calyx is deeply divided into five unnotched, oblong lobes, with ciliate edges and a lighter-colored midvein. The corolla tube is similar in length to the calyx. The inside of the corolla tube is covered by short yellowish hairs, while the outside is hairless; this is one factor that distinguishes this species from lithospermum multiflorum.
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