Cordylanthus tenuis subsp. barbatus

Fresno county bird's-beak, Fresno County Bird's-Beak

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Fresno county bird's-beak is a rare (CNPS 4.3) California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada Mountains (Madera and Fresno counties) in open mixed forest at elevations of 1,300 to 2,400 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces delicate white to pale yellow flowers with distinctive bearded bracts in dense clusters. Growing with slender stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, these stems are generally puberulent and long-hairy, sometimes appearing glandular. Its leaves are narrow and linear to slightly oblong, spreading along the stem in a sparse arrangement. The plant's inner flower bracts feature prominent opaque hairs longer than 2 millimeters, giving it a distinctive bearded appearance.

Habitat: Open mixed forest

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 1300-2400 m

Bioregions: s SNH (Madera, Fresno cos.).

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