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Heller's bird's-beak

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

Stems

densely villous, hairs glandular.

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

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.

Proximal leaves

10–25 mm, margins 3-lobed, lobes linear.

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

2–4-flowered, or flowers solitary, 20–30 mm;

bracts 3–6, lobes narrowly lanceolate to linear.

Pedicels

bracteoles 10–40 mm, margins pinnately lobed.

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.

Corollas

15–25 mm.

Capsules

oblong-lanceoloid, 6–12 mm.

Seeds

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

2n

= 26.

Cordylanthus kingii subsp. helleri

Cordylanthus kingii

Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Open pinyon-juniper woodlands and sagebrush scrub.
Elevation 1200–3200 m. (3900–10500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

(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. 672.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus > Cordylanthus kingii Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus
Sibling taxa
C. kingii subsp. densiflorus, C. kingii subsp. kingii
C. capitatus, C. eremicus, C. laxiflorus, C. nevinii, C. nidularius, C. parviflorus, 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 helleri, C. helleri, C. kingii var. helleri
Name authority (Ferris) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 10: 81. (1986) S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 233, 460, plate 22, figs. 3–6. (1871)
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