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

Stems

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

Leaves

glandular-pubescent and hirsute;

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

distal 5–20 × 1 mm, margins entire.

Inflorescences

spikes, 2-flowered, or flowers solitary;

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

Pedicels

bracteoles 10–12 mm, margins entire.

Flowers

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, 7–9 mm.

Seeds

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

2n

= 26.

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
AZ; CA; ID; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 673.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus
Sibling taxa
C. capitatus, C. eremicus, C. kingii, C. laxiflorus, C. nevinii, C. nidularius, C. pilosus, C. pringlei, C. ramosus, C. rigidus, C. tenuis, C. wrightii
Synonyms Adenostegia parviflora, C. glandulosus
Name authority (Ferris) Wiggins: Contr. Dudley Herb. 1: 174. (1933)
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