Plagiobothrys tenellus (Nutt. ex Hook.) A. Gray
slender popcornflower (Pacific popcornflower)
Boraginaceae (Borage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
slender popcornflower (Pacific popcornflower)
Boraginaceae (Borage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems several, simple or few-branched, erect to ascending, 5-25 cm tall, spreading-hairy and often also with backward-pointing, appressed hairs.
Leaves:
Basal leaves in a peristent rosette, 0.7-4 cm long, 2-8 mm wide; stem leaves few, lanceolate, usually smaller than basal leaves, spreading-hairy, entire, alternate.
Flowers:
Inflorescence terminal, coiled, narrow, elongating, sometimes paired clusters (racemes); flowers small; petals fused at the base into a tube that flares (2-4 mm wide) at top to 5 lobes, with 5 bulges at the throat; fruiting calyces 3-5 mm long, ascending-hairy.
Fruits:
Nutlets usually 4, cross-shaped, 1.5-2.5 mm long, warty in rows.
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.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Plagiobothrys tenellus
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)
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) |
|||
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
90 | 90 | 90 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
200 | 200 | 200 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
1 | 1 | 1 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
|||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
|||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
|||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry meadows and coastal bluffs in the lowland zone; rare on S Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; S to ID, UT and Baja CA.Status Information
| Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native | S1? | Red | T (Nov 2008) |
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Plagiobothrys asper Greene