Keckiella cordifolia
Encyclopedia
Keckiella cordifolia is a species of flowering shrub
in the plantain family
known by the common name heartleaf keckiella. It is native to the coast and coastal mountains of southern California
and northern Baja California
, and it is a resident of chaparral
and coastal woodland plant communities. This is a spreading shrub reaching maximum heights in excess of two meters. Its shiny green leaves are oval to heart-shaped, pointed, and edged with small teeth. They are 2 to 6 centimeters long and arranged oppositely on the branches. The shrub produces glandular, hairy inflorescence
s of many flowers each. The flower is somewhat tubular with a wide open mouth. It is fuzzy on the external surface and any shade of pale orange to deep scarlet. It is up to 3 centimeters long and 4 wide at the mouth, which has three flat lower lobes and two joined upper lobes. Inside the mouth are long filamentous stamen
s and a flat, hairy, yellow sterile stamen called a staminode
.
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
in the plantain family
Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae Juss. or plantain family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. The type genus is Plantago L..In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, have...
known by the common name heartleaf keckiella. It is native to the coast and coastal mountains of southern 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...
and northern Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, and it is a resident of 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...
and coastal woodland plant communities. This is a spreading shrub reaching maximum heights in excess of two meters. Its shiny green leaves are oval to heart-shaped, pointed, and edged with small teeth. They are 2 to 6 centimeters long and arranged oppositely on the branches. The shrub produces glandular, hairy 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 of many flowers each. The flower is somewhat tubular with a wide open mouth. It is fuzzy on the external surface and any shade of pale orange to deep scarlet. It is up to 3 centimeters long and 4 wide at the mouth, which has three flat lower lobes and two joined upper lobes. Inside the mouth are long filamentous stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and a flat, hairy, yellow sterile stamen called a staminode
Staminode
In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen. This means that it does not produce pollen. Staminodes are frequently inconspicuous and stamen-like, usually occurring at the inner whorl of the flower, but are also sometimes long enough to protrude from the...
.