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Heller's bird's beak, King's bird's-beak

purple bird's-beak, small-flower bird's-beak, sticky bird's-beak

Stems

erect, 10–80 cm, puberulent, pubescent, or densely villous.

erect to ascending, 20–60 cm, hirsute and densely glandular-pubescent.

Leaves

glandular-pubescent;

proximal 10–40 mm, margins 3–5-lobed, lobes linear to filiform, 1–3 mm wide;

distal 10–25 × 1 mm, margins entire.

glandular-pubescent and hirsute;

proximal 10–30 mm, margins 3-lobed, lobes 1 mm wide;

distal 5–20 × 1 mm, margins entire.

Inflorescences

capitate spikes, 2–12-flowered, or flowers solitary;

bracts 1–6, 10–40 mm, margins 3-lobed, lobes purple distally, narrowly lanceolate, linear, or filiform.

spikes, 2-flowered, or flowers solitary;

bracts 1(or 2), 5–15 mm, margins 3-lobed, lobes sometimes purplish distally, linear-lanceolate.

Pedicels

bracteoles 10–40 mm, margins pinnately lobed.

bracteoles 10–12 mm, margins entire.

Flowers

calyx 15–30(–40) mm, tube 1–2.5 mm, apex 2-fid, cleft 2–3 mm;

corolla lavender-pink to purple-red or yellow with purple veins and markings, 15–25(–30) mm, throat 5–7 mm diam., abaxial lip 5–10 mm, ca. equal to and appressed to adaxial;

stamens 4, filaments hairy, fertile pollen sacs 2 per filament, equal.

calyx 10–15 mm, tube 5–8 mm, apex 2-fid, cleft 1 mm;

corolla pale pink to purple-pink with darker veins, 15–20 mm, tube 10–15 mm, throat 5–7 mm diam., abaxial lip 5–6 mm, shorter than and not appressed to adaxial;

stamens 4, filaments hairy, fertile pollen sacs 2 per filament, equal.

Capsules

oblong-lanceoloid, 6–12 mm.

oblong-lanceoloid, 7–9 mm.

Seeds

15–20, light brown, ovoid to reniform, 2–2.5 mm, reticulate and papillate.

15–20, dark brown, ovoid to reniform, 1.5–2 mm, reticulate and papillate.

2n

= 26.

Cordylanthus kingii

Cordylanthus parviflorus

Phenology Flowering Aug–Oct.
Habitat Dry, rocky slopes, sagebrush scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands, Joshua tree woodlands.
Elevation 700–2200 m. (2300–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; ID; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Cordylanthus parviflorus is similar to C. laxiflorus, which also has unequal corolla lips. It can be distinguished from C. laxiflorus by its pink to purple (versus yellow) corollas and stamens with two pollen sacs.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Bracts 3–6, lobes narrowly lanceolate to linear.
subsp. helleri
1. Bracts 1–3, lobes linear to filiform.
→ 2
2. Corollas 15–25 mm; stems puberulent to pubescent; spikes 20–40 mm, 3–5(–8)-flowered.
subsp. kingii
2. Corollas 25–30 mm; stems densely villous; spikes 40–50 mm, 8–12-flowered.
subsp. densiflorus
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 672. FNA vol. 17, p. 673.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus
Sibling taxa
C. capitatus, C. eremicus, C. laxiflorus, C. nevinii, C. nidularius, C. parviflorus, C. pilosus, C. pringlei, C. ramosus, C. rigidus, C. tenuis, C. wrightii
C. capitatus, C. eremicus, C. kingii, C. laxiflorus, C. nevinii, C. nidularius, C. pilosus, C. pringlei, C. ramosus, C. rigidus, C. tenuis, C. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
C. kingii subsp. densiflorus, C. kingii subsp. helleri, C. kingii subsp. kingii
Synonyms Adenostegia parviflora, C. glandulosus
Name authority S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 233, 460, plate 22, figs. 3–6. (1871) (Ferris) Wiggins: Contr. Dudley Herb. 1: 174. (1933)
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