Castilleja ambigua subsp. humboldtiensis

Humboldt bay owl's-clover, Humboldt Bay Owl's-Clover

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Humboldt bay owl's-clover is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in northern coastal California, including Humboldt, Mendocino, and Marin counties, inhabiting salt marshes at near sea level. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces pink or rose-purple flowers with yellow accents, featuring delicate lower lip teeth 2 to 3 millimeters long. Growing as a somewhat fleshy, ascending plant with few branches from its mid-stem, it develops a distinctive appearance with rounded to truncate bract tips in soft yellow-pink to rose-purple tones. Its compact structure and subtle coloration make it a distinctive inhabitant of coastal salt marsh environments. The small seeds measure 2 to 2.5 millimeters, reflecting the plant's delicate, ephemeral nature.

Habitat: Salt marshes

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: +- 0 m.

Bioregions: NCo (Humboldt, Mendocino cos.), n CCo (Marin Co.).

California counties: Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.