Orthocarpus cuspidatus

Broad scaled owl's clover

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Broad scaled owl's clover is a California native annual herb found in open grasslands and woodland margins at moderate elevations. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces delicate purple-pink flowers with a distinctive pouched lower lip, nestled within dense 2 to 10 centimeter inflorescences. Growing 10 to 40 centimeters tall with slender, often much-branched stems that become purple-tinged, it develops a delicate and somewhat glandular appearance. Its leaves range from 10 to 50 millimeters long, with proximal leaves entire and distal leaves featuring three deep, linear lobes that create an intricate architectural structure. The small fruits are 6 to 8 millimeters long, containing dark brown seeds that ensure the plant's continued reproduction.

California counties: Alpine, Placer, Mono, Siskiyou, Modoc, Lassen, Sierra, Trinity

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