Flora of North America species comparison

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Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. pallescens

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. brunneus
Photo is of parent taxon

pale bird's-beak, pallid bird's beak
Photo is of parent taxon

serpentine bird's beak
Stems

sparsely puberulent and/or glandular-puberulent and, often, pilose.

glabrous proximally, glandular-puberulent distally.
Leaves

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

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

4–6-flowered;

bracts yellow-green, 3-lobed or entire, sparsely pilose with long hairs.

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

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

corolla 10–15 mm.

corolla 12–16 mm.
2n

= 28.

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. pallescens

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. brunneus
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Open volcanic alluvium. Serpentine in mixed evergreen forests and chaparral.
Elevation 900–1200 m. (3000–3900 ft.) 200–1400 m. (700–4600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies pallescens grows in Siskiyou County near Black Butte and the town of Weed (B. L. Wilson et al. 2014). It is similar to subsp. viscidus, differing in its yellow-green color and inflorescences with four to six pale flowers.

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

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.)
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. brunneus, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
C. tenuis subsp. barbatus, C. tenuis subsp. pallescens, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
Synonyms C. pallescens C. pilosus var. brunneus, C. brunneus, C. capillaris, C. tenuis subsp. capillaris
Name authority (Pennell) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 10: 55. (1986) (Jepson) 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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