Orobanche californica subsp. grayana

(Beck) Heckard

Madroño 22: 54. 1973.

Endemic
Basionym: Orobanche grayana Beck Biblioth. Bot. 19: 79. 1890
Synonyms: Aphyllon californicum subsp. grayanum (Beck) A. C. Schneider Myzorrhiza grayana (Beck) Rydberg
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 480. Mentioned on page 478.

Plants usually branched proximally, 4–10 cm, portion proximal to inflorescence 1–3(–4) cm, slender. Inflorescences corymbs, sometimes subcorymbose racemes, 3–6 cm; bracts pallid to pinkish tinged, drying brown. Pedicels 5–20 mm. Calyces 11–15 mm, lobes pallid, sometimes purplish, linear-subulate, (7–)9–13(–16) mm. Corollas pallid to pinkish or pale lavender, often with lavender veins, (25–)28–33 mm; tube slender, abruptly widening toward throat; throat 8–10 mm wide at base of lobes; lips 10–12 mm, abaxial lobes lanceolate to lanceolate-subulate, 2–3 mm wide, apex acute, adaxial lobes oblong-ovate, apex narrowly rounded, shallowly retuse, or erosulate. 2n = 48.


Phenology: Flowering (Jun–)Aug–Sep.
Habitat: Moist meadows and stream margins.
Elevation: (50–)300–2100 m.

Discussion

Subspecies grayana is distributed in the Cascade-Sierra Nevada ranges, Coast Ranges (central California and southern Oregon), and mountains of the Columbia Plateau in Oregon, from Klickitat County, Washington, south to Tuolumne County, California. It is rare throughout the range, possibly locally extirpated in portions of the range in Oregon.

The hosts are primarily species of Aster and Erigeron and occasionally Grindelia. Other reported non-Asteraceae hosts are unlikely.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
L. Turner Collins +, Alison E. L. Colwell +  and George Yatskievych +
(Beck) Heckard +
Orobanche grayana +
Calif. +, Oreg. +  and Wash. +
(50–)300–2100 m. +
Moist meadows and stream margins. +
Flowering (Jun–)Aug–Sep. +
Aphyllon californicum subsp. grayanum +  and Myzorrhiza grayana +
Orobanche californica subsp. grayana +
Orobanche californica +
subspecies +