Dicranostegia orcuttiana

Orcutt's bird's-beak, baja bird's-beak, Baja Bird'S-Beak

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.1

Orcutt's bird's-beak is a rare (CNPS 2B.1) California native annual found in southern coastal Southern California in southwestern San Diego County coastal scrub habitats at elevations below 350 meters. Flowering from March to August, this plant produces white flowers with yellow-tipped corollas 18 to 25 millimeters long, forming distinctive hooded structures that dramatically enclose the anthers and style. Growing 10 to 50 centimeters tall with an often red-tinged green stem that is generally much-branched and stiff-hairy, it develops a distinctive root system with yellow roots. Its alternate leaves are sessile, typically 3 to 6 centimeters long with 8 to 11 pinnate lobes, creating a complex and delicate foliage structure. The plant produces small dark brown seeds with a netted, wavy-crested seed coat measuring 1 to 1.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Coastal scrub

Bloom period: Mar-Aug

Elevation: < 350 m

Bioregions: s SCo (sw San Diego Co.)

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