Cordylanthus pilosus subsp. pilosus

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Hairy owl's-clover is a California native annual herb found in northern Coast Ranges and northern San Francisco Bay Area in open foothill woodlands and chaparral, particularly on serpentine landscapes at elevations generally below 1,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces flowers nestled within distinctive bracts with wider, obtuse to slightly notched tips. Growing with slender stems that support delicate floral structures, it displays an intricate branching pattern characteristic of its genus. Its small leaves and bracts create a complex architectural arrangement, with flower structures that are subtly wider at their tips and carefully positioned within the plant's overall form. The plant's adaptation to serpentine soils highlights its specialized ecological niche in California's diverse botanical landscape.

Habitat: Open foothill woodland, chaparral, on serpentine

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: generally < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCoR, n SnFrB.

California counties: Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Santa Clara, Humboldt, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Butte, Mariposa, Marin, Sutter, Colusa, Solano, Shasta, Sacramento, Alameda, Siskiyou

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