Semi-desert. Openings. Spring.
McElmo Canyon, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, March 27, 2005.

Down on your belly to appreciate Lappula redowskii.  Flowers are no more than a speck of blue or white; soft, minutely, hairy leaves and stems have a tint of maroon; and stem leaves are cupped and nearly vertical.  Numerous flowers deck various angles of Lappula redowskii.  Where you find one plant, you will usually find many for the seeds are very successful at germinating.

Weber indicates that there are characteristics that separate this genus into several species in the Four Corners area; John Kartesz indicates that we have one species, L. redowskii.

"Lapp" is Latin for "bur" and perhaps.

Semi-desert. Openings. Spring.
McElmo Canyon, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, March 27, 2005.

Semi-desert. Openings. Spring.
McElmo Canyon, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, March 27, 2005.

Inflated margins of the nutlets are horse-collar works of art.  Everyone "oohs" and "ahhs" when they look at these nutlets though a hand lens.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Openings. Spring.
Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, New Mexico, April 11, 2007.

The Anasazi surely found these early spring flowers leaning against these same Chaco walls.  This Lappula grows to sixteen inches tall, as here, branches often, flowers copiously, and is covered in fine hairs.

The plant was first named Echinospermum redowskii variety occidentalis by Sereno Watson in the late 1800s and was given its present name by Edward Greene in 1899.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Openings. Spring.
Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, New Mexico, April 11, 2007.

Flowers are blue-white, numerous, and no more than a quarter inch tall and wide.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Openings. Spring.
Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, New Mexico, April 11, 2007.
Fisher Tower Trail, Utah, April 15, 2008.

The anemone-like seed pods will dry and be carried away on animal fur and human clothing.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key
Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Lappula redowskii