General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems ascending to erect, 8-25 cm tall, simple or with several erect branches; with a mixture of short and long, spreading hairs.
Leaves:
Alternate, unstalked, 2-4 cm long, linear to narrowly lanceolate and entire or deeply cleft into 3 to 5 long narrow lobes, spreading-hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a dense, prominently bracted, terminal spike, the bracts differing abruptly from the leaves, broader and more membranous, net-veined, usually abruptly and firmly sharp-pointed at the tip, all green or yellowish-green throughout, 3- to 5-cleft into long narrow lobes, progressively less cleft above; corollas yellow, 10-12 mm long, tubular, 2-lipped, the upper lip beak-like, surpassing the lower lip by 1-1.5 mm, the lower lip broader, moderately pouched, tipped with 3 tiny teeth; calyces tubular, 2-cleft, each segment 2-lobed, the lobes slightly shorter than the tube; stamens 4.
Fruits:
Capsules, ellipsoid; seeds several, with tight-fitting, netted coats.
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.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
---|---|---|---|
Native | S2 | Red | E (May 2005) |
Orthocarpus luteus and Orthocarpus tenuifolius also have yellow flowers and occur in the same area as Orthocarpus barbatus in south-central British Columbia. They may be distinguished by their inflorescence bracts, which are 3-lobed and shorter than the 3-5 cleft, long narrow lobes of O. barbatus.
Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre |