''Myosurus cupulatus'' is a species of flowering plant in the

buttercup family Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

known by the common name Arizona mousetail. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in moist and dry habitat types in desert, scrub, and woodland. It is an annual plant forming a small tuft up to about 14 centimeters tall. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped and up to 7 centimeters in length. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

produces a single flower which has an elongated, cylindrical or cone-shaped receptacle up to 4 centimeters long. At the base of the receptacle are curving, spurred

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s and five petals each under 3 millimeters long.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
Ranunculaceae {{Ranunculales-stub