Comandra umbellata subsp. pallida (L.) Nutt.
pale comandra
Santalaceae (Christmas Mistletoe family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Gordon Neish     (Photo ID #23620)

Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Comandra umbellata subsp. pallida
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Species Information

General:
Perennial parasitic herb from widespread rhizomes; stems erect, several, clustered, simple, 5-30 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate, linear-elliptic to lanceolate or widely oblanceolate, entire, short-stalked to nearly unstalked, 5-40 mm long, 1-10 mm wide, thick, fleshy, greenish to glaucous.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of terminal, compact clusters of somewhat bell-shaped; greenish to white or purple, apetalous flowers; calyces tube-shaped with 5 spreading lobes; stamens 1 mm long and hairy at the base.
Fruits:
Berry-like, dry to fleshy, blue to purple or brown, 4-9 mm long.
Notes:
Three varieties are recognized in BC. The vars. californica and umbellata may be difficult to separate.

1. Calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate, (2.5) 3-4 mm long; leaves thick and glaucous, the midnerve sometimes visible (the secondary nerves rarely visible); fruits 6-9 mm long; plants more frequent to the north................. var. pallida (A. DC.) M.E. Jones

1. Calyx lobes narrowly egg-shaped to egg-shaped, (1.5) 2-2.5 (3) mm long (if the lobes 2.5 mm or longer then the leaves usually not glaucous and without visible midnerves); fruits 4-6 mm long; plants of S BC.

2. Leaves somewhat fleshy, usually strongly glaucous, secondary veins usually not visible, the margins rarely rolled towards the underside of the leaves................... var. californica (Eastw. ex Rydb.) C.L. Hitchc.

2. Leaves thinner, usually only slightly if at all glaucous, the secondary veins usually plainly visible, the margins usually slightly rolled under towards the underside of the leaves................... var. umbellata

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Comandra umbellata ssp. pallida

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
 Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max
Elevation (metres)
 880 484 1669
Slope Gradient (%)
 4 0 20

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

 129 40 180
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		7 3 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
 C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
 17
Modal BEC Zone Class
 BG

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

 BG(4), ESSF(2), ICH(4), IDF(3), MH(1), MS(2), SBS(1)

Habitat and Range

Mesic to dry sandy or rocky slopes and shrublands in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; infrequent in NE, SC and SE BC, rare on S Vancouver Island; var. californica - S to AZ and CA; var. pallida - N to YT and NT, E to MB and S to MN, TX, NM AZ, and OR; var. umbellata - N to NT, E to NF and S to ME, PA, NC, GA, MS and OK.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Comandra umbellata (L.) Nutt.

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