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bird-on-nest, Mount Diablo bird's-beak, Mt. Diablo bird's-beak

slender bird's-beak, sticky birdbeak

Stems

decumbent, 5–10(–15) cm, glandular-puberulent and pilose.

erect to ascending, 20–80(–120) cm, glabrous or sparsely glandular-puberulent, puberulent, and/or pilose.

Leaves

glandular-puberulent and pilose;

proximal 10–30 mm, margins entire or 3-lobed, lobes 1–2 mm wide;

distal 10–20 × 1 mm, margins entire.

puberulent, often pilose, or glabrous;

proximal 20–60 mm, margins entire or 3-lobed, lobes 0.5–1 mm wide;

distal 10–40 × 0.3–2 mm, margins entire.

Inflorescences

spikes, 2- or 3-flowered, or flowers solitary;

bracts 2 or 3, 10–15 mm, margins 3-lobed, lobes purple distally, linear to filiform.

spikes, 2–7-flowered, or flowers solitary;

bracts 1–4, 5–20 mm, margins entire or 3-lobed, lobes green or purple distally, narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, apex rounded.

Pedicels

bracteoles 10–15 mm, margins entire.

bracteoles 10–20 mm, margins entire or toothed.

Flowers

calyx 10–16 mm, tube 0 mm, apex entire;

corolla white with purple veins, 10–15 mm, throat 5–7(–9) mm diam., abaxial lip 3–5 mm, ca. equal to and appressed to adaxial;

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

calyx 10–20 mm, tube 0 mm, apex 2-fid, cleft 1 mm;

corolla pale yellow, marked with purple along veins and galea, 10–20 mm, throat 6–8 mm diam., abaxial lip 4–6 mm, ca. equal to and appressed to adaxial;

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

Capsules

oblong-ovoid, 5–7 mm.

narrowly ovoid, 5–10 mm.

Seeds

7–10, dark brown, ovoid to reniform, 1.5–2 mm, irregularly striate.

6–16, dark brown, ovoid to rhomboid, 1.5–2.5 mm, striate.

2n

= 28.

Cordylanthus nidularius

Cordylanthus tenuis

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Dry, open serpentine in chaparral.
Elevation 600–800 m. (2000–2600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cordylanthus nidularius is the only member of the genus with decumbent stems. The species is similar to C. tenuis; it differs in its white (versus pale yellow) corollas and decumbent (versus erect to ascending) stems. It grows on the eastern slopes of Mt. Diablo.

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

Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Leaf lobes filiform; stems glabrous proximally.
subsp. brunneus
1. Leaves or leaf lobes linear to linear-lanceolate; stems puberulent, glandular-puberulent, glandular-pubescent, and/or pilose proximally.
→ 2
2. Bracts densely hirsute.
subsp. barbatus
2. Bracts hirsute or pilose.
→ 3
3. Bracts entire.
subsp. tenuis
3. Bracts 3-lobed, sometimes entire.
→ 4
4. Leaves yellow-green; inflorescences 4–6-flowered.
subsp. pallescens
4. Leaves green to gray-green; inflorescences 1–3-flowered.
subsp. viscidus
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 673. FNA vol. 17, p. 676.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus
Sibling taxa
C. capitatus, C. eremicus, C. kingii, C. laxiflorus, C. nevinii, 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. parviflorus, C. pilosus, C. pringlei, C. ramosus, C. rigidus, C. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
C. tenuis subsp. barbatus, C. tenuis subsp. brunneus, C. tenuis subsp. pallescens, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
Synonyms Adenostegia tenuis
Name authority J. T. Howell: Leafl. W. Bot. 3: 207. (1943) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7: 383. (1868)
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