Scientific Name : Oreocarya longiflora
Author : A. Nels.
NatureServe Explorer
Common Name : Long- flower Cat's- eye
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Taxonomy
Boraginaceae (borage family)
This species was first described in 1899 by Avon Nelson as Oreocarya longiflora. The type locality is in Mesa County, Colorado. Later treatments placed this species in the genus Cryptantha (Payson 1927, Harrington 1954, Kartesz 1994). More recent treatments place this and all perennial species of Cryptantha the genus Oreocarya (Weber and Wittman 2012, Ackerfield 2022).
Ranks and Status
State Rank : S3
State Rank Reason : Oreocarya longiflora is known from approximately 70 occurrences southwestern Colorado, USA., about half of which are considered historical. Primary threats are motorized recreation, road and power line maintenance, and infestations of non-native plants. Effects from climate change are also a concern (CNHP 2025).
U.S. Endangered Species Act : none
Colorado Threatened and Endangered List : none
Other Statuses : none
Description and Phenology
General Description:
Oreocarya longiflora is a short-lived perennial, or possibly biennial, 0.8 to 3 (5) dm tall, with one to several stems. It is one of the most stiffly pubescent of the Oreocarya in Colorado. It has pustulate hairs on both leaf surfaces. Flowers are white with yellow forncices, with a tubular section 12 to 14 mm long.
Look Alikes:
The relatively large flowers and conspicuously pustulose hairs on the upper side of the leaves distinguish this species from other close relatives.
Phenology:
Flowers end of April through May, and fruit in May (Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2012).
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Habitat
In Colorado, this species is found in rocky, sandy or clayey soils in salt desert shrub and pinyon-juniper communities. Associated species include Fendlera rupicola, Lepidium montanum, Penstemon strictus, Townsendia incana, Cryptantha flava, Erigeron concinnus, Hedysarum boreale, Sphaeralcea parvifolia, Schoencrambe linifolia, Cryptantha flavoculata and Astragalus wingatanus (Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2012).
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Elevation Range:
4,462 - 6,623 feet (1,360 - 2,019 meters)
Distribution
Colorado Endemic:
No
Range:
Oreocarya longiflora is found in Delta, Garfield, Mesa, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel counties, Colorado, USA. Estimated range extent in Colorado of 24,941 square kilometers was calculated in GeoCAT using occurrence data provided by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (2025). This species can also be found in Arizona and Utah.
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Threats and Management Issues
Primary threats appear to be motorized recreation, road and power line maintenance, and infestations of non-native plants (Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2012).
References
- Ackerfield, Jennifer. 2022. Flora of Colorado. Second Edition. Bot. Misc. 60. BRIT Press, Fort Worth Botanic Garden/Botanical Research Institute of Texas, U.S.A. 861 pp.
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP). 2025. Biodiversity Tracking and Conservation System (Biotics 5). Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program. 2012. Biodiversity Tracking and Conservation System. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
- Cronquist, A., A.H. Holmgren, N.H. Holmgren, J.L. Reveal, and P.K. Holmgren. 1984. Intermountain Flora: Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. Vol. 4, Subclass Asteridae (except Asteraceae). New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 573 pp.
- Harrington, H.D. 1954. Manual of the plants of Colorado. Sage Press, Chicago. 666 pp.
- Heil, K.D., S.L. O'Kane Jr., L.M. Reeves, and A. Clifford, 2013. Flora of the Four Corners Region, Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage; Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri. 1098 pp.
- Kartez, John T. 1994. A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Second edition (2 volumes). Timber Press, Inc., Portland, OR.
- Lavender, A.E., M.M. Fink, S.E. Linn, D.M. Theobald. 2011. Colorado Ownership, Management, and Protection v9 Database. Colorado Natural Heritage Program and Geospatial Centroid, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. (30 September).
- USDA, NRCS. 2022. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
- Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Western Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 532 pp.
