Cordylanthus eremicus
Desert bird's beak
(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Matt Berger · licence
Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Cordylanthus eremicus (Desert bird's beak) is a native California herb in the Orobanchaceae family.
Desert bird's beak is a California native annual herb found in desert regions in sandy or rocky habitats at elevations of 100 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces yellow-green to purple flowers with maroon-blotched throats and yellow tips, often appearing in dense spikes 15 to 25 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems 10 to 80 centimeters tall, often tinged with red and covered in a whitish canescent surface, it has a delicate, branching form. Its leaves are thread-like or linear, ranging from 10 to 40 millimeters long, with 0 to 7 narrow lobes, giving the plant a feathery, sparse appearance. The small seeds are pale brown, approximately 1.5 to 2 millimeters long with a deeply netted surface.
How to tell it apart
vs Dicranostegia: Cordylanthus has flowers in short dense spikes under 2cm; Dicranostegia has flowers scattered singly along stem.; vs Castilleja: Cordylanthus has closed hood with rolled lower lip; Castilleja has open beak without rolled lip.; vs Dittrichia: Cordylanthus has tubular two-lipped flowers; Dittrichia has yellow daisy flowers with many ray petals.; vs Chloropyron: Cordylanthus has palmately divided leaves; Chloropyron has succulent undivided leaves in salt marsh habitat.; vs Deinandra: Cordylanthus has tubular two-lipped flowers; Deinandra has yellow daisy flowers with notched ray petals.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cordylanthus eremicus native to California?
Yes. Cordylanthus eremicus is native to California (recorded as native).
What plant family does Cordylanthus eremicus belong to?
Cordylanthus eremicus is in the Orobanchaceae family, genus Cordylanthus.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Cordylanthus eremicus subsp. eremicus — Desert bird's-beak
- Cordylanthus eremicus subsp. kernensis — Kern plateau bird's-beak
- Cordylanthus kingii subsp. helleri
- Cordylanthus nevinii — Nevin's bird's beak
- Cordylanthus nidularius — Mount diablo bird's-beak
- Cordylanthus parviflorus — Small-flowered bird's-beak
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.