Cordylanthus pilosus
Encyclopedia
Cordylanthus pilosus is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family
known by the common name hairy bird's beak. It is endemic to the mountain ranges and foothills of northern California
, where it grows in woodland and chaparral
habitat, often on serpentine soil
s. There are three subspecies, each mainly limited to a different section of mountains. In general this annual herb is erect and branching, reaching a maximum height anywhere between 20 centimeters and 1.2 meters. It is purple-tinted gray-green in color and usually quite hairy in texture, the hairs sometimes associated with sticky glands. The branches have sparse tufts of small linear leaves. The flowers of the inflorescence
have bract
s which may be linear in shape or lobed, each lobe knobby or notched. The flower is up to 2 centimeters long and has a whitish pouch marked with yellow and purple enclosed in hairy sepal
s.
Cordylanthus pilosus has three subspecies: subsp. trifidus in the Sierra Nevada, subsp. pilosus in the Coast Ranges, and subsp. hansenii in the Cascade Ranges and the Sierra Nevada.
Orobanchaceae
Orobanchaceae, the broomrape family, is a family of flowering plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera were formerly included in the family Scrophulariaceae sensu lato...
known by the common name hairy bird's beak. It is endemic to the mountain ranges and foothills of northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in woodland and chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
habitat, often on serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s. There are three subspecies, each mainly limited to a different section of mountains. In general this annual herb is erect and branching, reaching a maximum height anywhere between 20 centimeters and 1.2 meters. It is purple-tinted gray-green in color and usually quite hairy in texture, the hairs sometimes associated with sticky glands. The branches have sparse tufts of small linear leaves. The flowers of the 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...
have bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s which may be linear in shape or lobed, each lobe knobby or notched. The flower is up to 2 centimeters long and has a whitish pouch marked with yellow and purple enclosed in hairy sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s.
Cordylanthus pilosus has three subspecies: subsp. trifidus in the Sierra Nevada, subsp. pilosus in the Coast Ranges, and subsp. hansenii in the Cascade Ranges and the Sierra Nevada.