Chloropyron tecopense

Tecopa salty bird's-beak, Tecopa Salty Bird's-Beak

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Tecopa salty bird's-beak is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada and northern Mojave Desert in alkaline meadows and flats at elevations of 100 to 900 meters. Flowering from August to October, this plant produces pale lavender flowers in loose spikes 20 to 150 millimeters long with distinctive three-lobed bracts. Growing 10 to 60 centimeters tall with a grayish or purple-tinged appearance, the plant has a somewhat glaucous and sparsely hairy stem. Its narrow lance-linear leaves measure 5 to 15 millimeters long and 1 to 2 millimeters wide, remaining entirely unserrated. The plant's seeds are light brown, approximately 2 to 3 millimeters long with a deeply netted, kidney-like shape.

Habitat: Alkaline meadows and flats

Bloom period: Aug-Oct

Elevation: 100-900 m

Bioregions: s SNE, n DMoj

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