Flora of North America species comparison

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Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. tenuis

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. brunneus
Photo is of parent taxon

slender bird's beak
Photo is of parent taxon

serpentine bird's beak
Stems

puberulent to glandular-pubescent proximally.

glabrous proximally, glandular-puberulent distally.
Leaves

green, linear, entire.

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

1–3-flowered;

bracts green, entire, hirsute with a few long hairs near margins.

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 10–20 mm.

corolla 12–16 mm.

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. tenuis

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. brunneus
Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Openings in conifer woodlands. Serpentine in mixed evergreen forests and chaparral.
Elevation 300–2600 m. (1000–8500 ft.) 200–1400 m. (700–4600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies tenuis grows in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada with a disjunct population in the Klamath Range. Some plants from the central Klamath Range are similar to subsp. viscidus, which has three-lobed inflorescence bracts.

(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. pallescens, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
C. tenuis subsp. barbatus, C. tenuis subsp. pallescens, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
Synonyms C. bolanderi, C. pilosus subsp. bolanderi, C. pilosus var. bolanderi C. pilosus var. brunneus, C. brunneus, C. capillaris, C. tenuis subsp. capillaris
Name authority unknown (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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