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Photo is of parent taxon

slender bird's beak, sticky birdbeak, viscid bird's beak

Photo is of parent taxon

serpentine bird's beak

Stems

densely glandular-puberulent and pilose.

glabrous proximally, glandular-puberulent distally.

Leaves

green to gray-green, 3-lobed, lobes linear.

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

Inflorescences

loosely 1–3-flowered;

bracts gray-green, 3-lobed, 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 10–18 mm.

corolla 12–16 mm.

2n

= 28.

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. viscidus

Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. brunneus

Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Serpentine in pine woodlands. Serpentine in mixed evergreen forests and chaparral.
Elevation 200–2000 m. (700–6600 ft.) 200–1400 m. (700–4600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[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.)

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. tenuis
C. tenuis subsp. barbatus, C. tenuis subsp. pallescens, C. tenuis subsp. tenuis, C. tenuis subsp. viscidus
Synonyms Adenostegia viscida, C. viscidus C. pilosus var. brunneus, C. brunneus, C. capillaris, C. tenuis subsp. capillaris
Name authority (Howell) T. I. Chuang & Heckard: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 10: 56. (1986) (Jepson) Munz: Aliso 4: 98. (1958)
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