Orthocarpus pachystachyus

Shasta orthocarpus

Family: Orobanchaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Shasta orthocarpus is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in eastern Klamath Ranges and adjacent western Cascades in northern Siskiyou County in openings within sagebrush scrub at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces delicate rose-colored flowers with a distinctive curved beak and a slightly pouched lower lip, approximately 25 to 30 millimeters long. Growing with simple, stout stems 10 to 20 centimeters tall and appearing somewhat scabrous and sparsely soft-hairy, it has an upright and compact form. Its leaves are complex, with distal leaves featuring 3 to 5 linear lobes extending to 30 to 50 millimeters long, and prominently net-veined bracts with pink-lavender margins. The fruit is small, measuring 5 to 7 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Openings in sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: e KR, adjacent w CaR (n-c Siskiyou Co.).

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