Flora of North America species comparison

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Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. brunneus

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. barbatus
Photo is of parent taxon

serpentine bird's beak
Photo is of parent taxon

Fresno County bird's-beak
Stems

glabrous proximally, glandular-puberulent distally.

puberulent, glandular-puberulent and often pilose.
Leaves

green, sometimes tinged purple, entire or 3-lobed, lobes filiform.

green, entire or 3-lobed, lobes linear to linear-lanceolate.
Inflorescences

1- or 2-flowered, flowers in loose clusters;

bracts green to purple, entire or 3-lobed, puberulent, often glabrous distally, without long hairs.

3–7-flowered, flowers in dense clusters;

bracts green, 3-lobed, hirsute with long hairs.
Flowers

corolla 12–16 mm.

corolla 15–18 mm.
2n

= 28.

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. brunneus

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. barbatus
Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Serpentine in mixed evergreen forests and chaparral. Open, mixed deciduous forests.
Elevation 200–1400 m. (700–4600 ft.) 1300–2400 m. (4300–7900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies brunneus is a serpentine endemic with glabrous or slightly puberulent stems and leaves with filiform lobes. T. I. Chuang and L. R. Heckard (1986) recognized subsp. capillaris as a distinct subspecies, closely related to subsp. brunneus but distinguished by glabrous stems and three-lobed proximal bracts. These characteristics are not reliable, varying even on a single plant. When combined, the two form a coherent subspecies distinguished by filiform leaf lobes, tendency to grow on serpentine, and distribution.

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

Subspecies barbatus is known from Fresno County. The long, dense hairs on the inflorescence bracts help to identify it.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 677. FNA vol. 17, p. 677.
Parent taxa Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus > Cordylanthus tenuis Orobanchaceae > Cordylanthus > Cordylanthus tenuis
Sibling taxa
C. tenuis subsp. barbatus, C. tenuis subsp. pallescens, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
C. tenuis subsp. brunneus, C. tenuis subsp. pallescens, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
Synonyms C. pilosus var. brunneus, C. brunneus, C. capillaris, C. tenuis subsp. capillaris
Name authority (Jepson) Munz: Aliso 4: 98. (1958) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 10: 58, figs. 3l3, 10k, 22h–n. (1986)
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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