Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Cordylanthus tenuis is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name slender bird's beak. It is native to the US states of California, Oregon, and Nevada, where it grows in woodland and forest. It erects a spindly stem which may exceed a meter in height with sparse narrow leaves a few centimeters long, and is sometimes sticky with glandular secretions. The plant is greenish and tinted with yellow or purple coloration. The stem branches at intervals and at the end of each branch is a cluster of one to several flowers. Each pocket-shaped flower is one to two centimeters long and about one wide, made up of fuzzy maroon lobes with white or yellow lips. There are several subspecies, including:

Plant type

Annual herb

Size

3 ft Tall

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Sagebrush Scrub, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 0 likely

Confirmed Likely

Leanira Checkerspot

Chlosyne leanira