Flower profile

Narrowleaf puccoon

Lithospermum incisum

Narrowleaf puccoon (Lithospermum incisum) is a flowering plant in the Boraginaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly March–May across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Narrowleaf puccoon is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 5 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in March–May.

25states where USDA records it

5Bloomipedia state lists include it

10,774U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota

Quick look

Lithospermum incisum is a species of flowering plant in the borage family. It is known by several common names, including fringed gromwell, fringed puccoon, narrowleaf stoneseed, narrowleaf puccoon, and plains stoneseed.
From Wikipedia's article Lithospermum incisum, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Boraginaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 25 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. ^NatureServe
In New Mexico, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–May. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 835 research-grade sightings of it in New Mexico, ranking #68 among the 152 flowers on our New Mexico list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 477 research-grade sightings of it in Oklahoma, ranking #71 among the 159 flowers on our Oklahoma list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 202 research-grade sightings of it in Nebraska, ranking #77 among the 147 flowers on our Nebraska list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (1,488 records)

Bloom time in the 5 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
New Mexico	Native	April–May	835
Oklahoma	Native	few records (19)	477
Nebraska	Native	few records (39)	202
South Dakota	Native	few records (11)	196
North Dakota	Native	few records (31)	149

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
New Mexico: Not listed Not on New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in New Mexico. ^{19.21.2.9 NMAC}
Oklahoma: No list Oklahoma has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Oklahoma ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Oklahoma.
Nebraska: Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nebraska. ^{163 NAC 4-004}
South Dakota: No list South Dakota's endangered and threatened list (ARSD 41:10:02) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's South Dakota ranks for plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in South Dakota.
North Dakota: No list North Dakota has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's North Dakota ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in North Dakota.
Rare elsewhere: Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: AR (S2), CA (S1), IN (S1), KY (SH), LA (S1), MI (SX), NV (S2). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records narrowleaf puccoon in 25 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

New Mexico counties with USDA records: Bernalillo, Chaves, Colfax, Curry, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Lincoln, Los Alamos, McKinley, Otero, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Socorro, Taos, Union.

Oklahoma counties with USDA records: Alfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cimarron, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Grady, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Haskell, Hughes, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnston, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mayes, McClain, Murray, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Osage, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills, Rogers, Seminole, Sequoyah, Stephens, Texas, Tillman, Tulsa, Washington, Washita, Woods, Woodward.

Nebraska counties with USDA records: Adams, Antelope, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Cuming, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Dundy, Frontier, Gage, Garden, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Howard, Jefferson, Kearney, Kimball, Lancaster, Lincoln, Loup, Madison, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thayer, Thomas, Washington, Webster, York.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Canada: Native; Lower 48 states: Native.

Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Batschia linearifolia, Lithospermum angustifolium, Lithospermum linearifolium, Lithospermum mandanense.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 771 counties across 24 states; the most are in Texas (142), Kansas (95), Nebraska (62).

Other Lithospermum on Bloomipedia (4): Hoary puccoon, Hairy puccoon, Manyflowered gromwell, Western false gromwell.

More from the Boraginaceae family (42 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Virginia bluebells, Virginia waterleaf, Pacific hound's tongue, Distant phacelia, Alkali heliotrope, Virginia stickseed, Wild comfrey, Menzies' baby blue eyes.

More New Mexico flowers

Gypsum phacelia

Phacelia integrifolia

Native

🌼 Blooms in NM: March–May

Manyflowered gromwell

Lithospermum multiflorum

Native

🌼 Few flowering records in NM

Creosote bush

Larrea tridentata

Native

🌼 Blooms in NM: April–August

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile LIIN2.
iNaturalist, Lithospermum incisum: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Lithospermum incisum (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
New Mexico: New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC).
New Mexico: New Mexico Noxious Weed List (NM Department of Agriculture, updated June 2020).
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Noxious Weed Law (2 O.S. § 3-220).
Nebraska: Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004).
Nebraska: Nebraska noxious weeds (25 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 10, § 001.02).
South Dakota: South Dakota statewide noxious weeds (ARSD 12:62:03:01.06).
North Dakota: North Dakota state noxious weeds (N.D. Admin. Code 7-06-01-02), as listed by the ND Department of Agriculture.
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Lithospermum incisum (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋） via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.