Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to the northern Great Plains.
Habitat: Moist places, especially around alkaline lakes and hot springs.
Flowers: June-July
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Annual
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Annual, glabrous herbs, the usually simple stems 1-several, 5-25 cm. tall.
Basal leaves few to several, not rosette-forming, elliptic-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 5-25 mm. long, 1-veined; cauline leaves opposite, acute, longer and narrower than the basal leaves.
Flowers few, often single; pedicels slender, straight and upright, that of the central flower 2-4 cm. long, exceeding the subtending bracts; calyx slender, 6-9 mm. long, the 5 lobes separated nearly to the base; corolla light salmon to nearly white, the slender tube up 1.5 times the length of the calyx, the five lobes widely flaring,. 4 mm. long, lanceolate, truncated; stamens attached halfway in the corolla tube, exerted; anthers only slightly twisted; ovary superior.
Capsule 2-valved, nearly twice the length of the calyx.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Zeltnera exaltata in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database
WA Flora Checklist: Zeltnera exaltata checklist entry
OregonFlora: Zeltnera exaltata information
E-Flora BC: Zeltnera exaltata atlas page
CalPhotos: Zeltnera exaltata photos