Cistanthe is a plant genus which includes most plants known as pussypaws. These are small, succulent flowering plants which often bear brightly colored flowers, though they vary quite a bit between species in appearance. Some species have flowers that are tightly packed into fluffy-looking inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s, the trait that gives them their common name. Many are adapted to arid environments, with some able to withstand climates that almost completely lack rainfall. Cistanthe was a genus created to segregate several species previously classified in Calandrinia

Calandrinia

Calandrinia is a plant genus that contains many species of purslane, including the redmaids. The genus was named for Jean Louis Calandrini, an 18th century Swiss botanist. It includes around 150 species of annual herbs which bear colorful flowers in shades of red to purple and white...

. Several species from other closely related genera have been moved into Cistanthe as well.

Selected species:

• Cistanthe amaranthoides
• Cistanthe ambigua
  Cistanthe ambigua
  Cistanthe ambigua is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name desert pussypaws. It is native to the deserts of northern Mexico and Arizona and California in the United States, where it grows in sandy soils. This is an annual herb producing an upright stem to a...
  
  - desert pussypaws
• Cistanthe arancioana
• Cistanthe calycina
• Cistanthe celosioides
• Cistanthe cephalophora
• Cistanthe cymosa
• Cistanthe grandiflora
• Cistanthe guadalupensis
• Cistanthe maritima - seaside pussypaws
• Cistanthe monandra
  Cistanthe monandra
  Cistanthe monandra is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name Common Pussypaws. It is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent Baja California, where it grows in sandy areas such as deserts and coastal and mountain scrub habitats...
  
  - common pussypaws, sandcress
• Cistanthe monosperma
  Cistanthe monosperma
  Cistanthe monosperma is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name one-seeded pussypaws. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California, where it grows in a number of habitat types, including forest and woodland. It is a perennial herb...
  
  - one-seeded pussypaws
• Cistanthe parryi
  Cistanthe parryi
  Cistanthe parryi is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name Parry's pussypaws. It is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California. It is a small annual herb producing spreading stems up to about 11 centimeters long...
  
  - Parry's pussypaws
• Cistanthe pulchella
  Cistanthe pulchella
  Cistanthe pulchella is a rare species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name Mariposa pussypaws. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills of central California, where it is known from only a few scattered occurrences. It grows on barren patches of granite gravel in...
  
  - Mariposa pussypaws
• Cistanthe pygmaea - pygmy pussypaws
• Cistanthe quadripetala
  Cistanthe quadripetala
  Cistanthe quadripetala is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name four-petalled pussypaws. It is endemic to the North Coast Ranges of California, where it is an uncommon member of the serpentine soils flora on the slopes...
  
  - fourpetal pussypaws
• Cistanthe rosea
  Cistanthe rosea
  Cistanthe rosea is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name rosy pussypaws. It is native to the western United States from California to Wyoming, where it grows in forest and scrub. It is an annual herb, often reddish or pink in color, producing spreading stems...
  
  - rosy pussypaws
• Cistanthe salsoloides
• Cistanthe umbellata
  Cistanthe umbellata
  Cistanthe umbellata is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family known by the common name Mount Hood pussypaws...
  
  - Mount Hood pussypaws

Further reading

• Hershkovitz, M. A. (1991). Phylogenetic assessment and revised circumscription of Cistanthe Spach (Portulacaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 78(4) 1009-21