Flora of North America species comparison

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Cordylanthus rigidus subsp. littoralis

Cordylanthus rigidus subsp. brevibracteatus
Photo is of parent taxon

seaside bird's beak
Photo is of parent taxon

short bract bird's beak, stiffbranch bird's beak
Stems

downy to puberulent, hairs soft.

puberulent and sparsely hispid.
Spikes

5–8-flowered;

proximal bracts 15–20 mm, equal to or longer than flowers, midlobes green or red distally, lanceolate, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, apex acute to retuse.

2–12-flowered;

proximal bracts 5–12 mm, shorter than flowers, midlobes green or red distally, linear-lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm wide, apex retuse to slightly rounded.
Flowers

corolla 15–20 mm.

corolla 8–17 mm.

Cordylanthus rigidus subsp. littoralis

Cordylanthus rigidus subsp. brevibracteatus
Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Dunes. Rocky opening in pine woodlands, pine-juniper woodlands, sagebrush scrub.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) 800–2600 m. (2600–8500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies littoralis grows only in the coastal dunes of the central coast in Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. It intergrades with subsp. rigidus. It is not known if this subspecies is genetically distinct or if its distinguishing features are caused by the unusual habitat where the plants grow.

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

Subspecies brevibracteatus occurs on the Kern Plateau and resembles subsp. rigidus, found to the north in the Sierra Nevada. Both have flowers in compact heads; plants of subsp. brevibracteatus differ in having proximal bracts 5–12 mm.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 676. FNA vol. 17, p. 676.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus > Cordylanthus rigidus Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus > Cordylanthus rigidus
Sibling taxa
C. rigidus subsp. brevibracteatus, C. rigidus subsp. rigidus, C. rigidus subsp. setigerus
C. rigidus subsp. littoralis, C. rigidus subsp. rigidus, C. rigidus subsp. setigerus
Synonyms Adenostegia littoralis, C. littoralis, C. rigidus var. littoralis C. filifolius var. brevibracteatus, Adenostegia rigida var. brevibracteata, C. rigidus var. brevibracteatus
Name authority (Ferris) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 10: 42. (1986) (A. Gray) Munz: Aliso 4: 98. (1958)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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