Flora of North America species comparison

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Ornithostaphylos oppositifolia

Baja birdbush, Baja California birdbush
Habit Shrubs to 2(–5) m. Leaves usually 3(–5) per node; petiole to 6 mm; blade whitish abaxially, light to deep green adaxially, 2.5–8 cm × 3–6 mm, base tapering to petiole, apex acute to mucronate.
Inflorescences

axes sometimes reddish purple, minutely tomentose.
Pedicels

slender, much longer than flowers;

bracteoles minute.
Flowers

calyx lobes ca. 1 × 1 mm, apex obtuse;

corolla 3–4 mm, lobes recurved, apex obtuse;

anther awns nearly as long as sacs;

ovary villous;

style often persistent, included or slightly exserted.
Drupes

4–6 mm diam.

Ornithostaphylos oppositifolia
Phenology Flowering Jan–Apr; fruiting May–Aug.
Habitat Coastal chaparral
Elevation 100-800 m (300-2600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico (n Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ornithostaphylos oppositifolia is known in the United States from a single mesa and adjacent slopes in the Tijuana Hills just north of the international border with Mexico in San Diego County. Only 103 individuals have been located on the United States side of the border, and the species is listed as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act. The population has been declining due to habitat fragmentation by roads and trails and disturbance caused by illegal border crossings and Border Patrol activities, including “brush” clearing. Recently, the extensive disturbance caused by the building of a double border fence has dramatically affected the population, and its long-term survival is uncertain.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 403.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Arbutoideae > Ornithostaphylos
Synonyms Arctostaphylos oppositifolia
Name authority (Parry) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 29: 101. (1914)
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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