familyOrobanchaceae
genusCordylanthus
speciesCordylanthus pilosus
subspeciesCordylanthus pilosus subsp. trifidus
Cordylanthus pilosus subsp. trifidus
Syst. Bot. Monogr. 10: 68. 1986.
Common names: Hansen’s bird’s-beak
Endemic
Basionym: Cordylanthus pilosus var. trifidus B. L. Robinson & Greenman Bot. Gaz. 22: 168. 1896
Synonyms: Adenostegia hansenii Ferris C. hansenii (Ferris) J. F. Macbride C. pilosus subsp. hansenii (Ferris) T. I. Chuang & Heckard
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 674.
Proximal leaves 1–2 mm wide, margins entire or 3-lobed. Inflorescences: bracts 3-lobed.
Phenology: Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat: Open woodlands.
Elevation: 500–1000 m.
Discussion
Subspecies trifidus grows in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. T. I. Chuang and L. R. Heckard (1986) recognized subsp. hansenii as distinct based on its shallowly cleft inflorescence bracts and robust distal branches. These characteristics do not distinguish subsp. hansenii but occur occasionally in plants of both subsp. hansenii and subsp. trifidus. Also, the plants they separated as subsp. hansenii occur in two disjunct populations, separated geographically by their subsp. trifidus. Combining the subspecies creates a geographically, ecologically, and morphologically coherent group.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
None.