Cordylanthus rigidus
rigid bird's beak, stiffbranch bird's beak
ascending, 30–100(–150) cm, pubescent, hirsute, glabrescent, puberulent, sparsely hispid, or downy.
puberulent and often hirsute;
proximal 10–40 mm, margins 3-lobed, lobes 1–3 mm wide;
distal 10–30 × 0.5–1.5 mm, margins entire or 3-lobed.
capitate spikes, 2–15-flowered;
bracts 5–10, 5–20 mm, margins entire or 3-lobed, lobes purplish black, ivory, or green distally, linear-lanceolate to linear or slightly spatulate.
bracteoles 14–20 mm, margins entire or toothed.
calyx 10–20 mm, tube 1–2 mm, apex entire or 2-fid, cleft 0–1 mm;
corolla pale yellow with purple veins and an abaxial, U-shaped, purple mark, 8–20 mm, throat 5–10 mm diam., abaxial lip 6–10 mm, ca. equal to and appressed to adaxial;
stamens 4, filaments hairy, fertile pollen sacs 2 per filament, subequal.
oblong-ovoid, 8–12 mm.
10–25, dark brown, oblong-ovoid, 1.5–2 mm, striate.
= 28.
Cordylanthus rigidus
Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).
Cordylanthus rigidus is variable, with many locally distinctive populations that intergrade with each other and with nearby species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Proximal bracts 5–12 mm, shorter than flowers. | subsp. brevibracteatus |
1. Proximal bracts 10–20 mm, equal to or longer than flowers. | → 2 |
2. Proximal bracts: midlobes linear, 0.5–1 mm wide, dark purple distally. | subsp. setigerus |
2. Proximal bracts: midlobes linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, 1–2.5 mm wide, green or red distally. | → 3 |
3. Stems pubescent and hirsute, hairs stiff; proximal bracts: midlobe apices retuse. | subsp. rigidus |
3. Stems downy to puberulent, hairs soft; proximal bracts: midlobe apices acute to retuse. | subsp. littoralis |
CA
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