Triphysaria pusilla (Benth.) T.I. Chuang & Heckard
dwarf owl-clover (dwarf owl's-clover)
Orobanchaceae (Broom-rape family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
dwarf owl-clover (dwarf owl's-clover)
Orobanchaceae (Broom-rape family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual herb, finely stiff-spreading-hairy throughout, usually maroon or purplish; stems decumbent, usually with ascending branches from the base, 5-20 cm tall, very slender; main axis obscure.
Leaves:
Alternate, unstalked, linear, 0.5-3 cm long, pinnately divided into 3 to 9 thread-like lobes.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a loose, ultimately elongate, prominently bracted, terminal spike 4-15 cm long, often extending to near the base of the stem, the bracts 5-12 mm long, resembling the leaves but more dissected, pinnately divided into 3 to 11 lobes; corollas red-purple, occasionally yellowish, inconspicuous, smooth or nearly so, 4-6 mm long, narrowly tubular not club-shaped, 2-lipped, the upper lip beaked and hooked, longer than the lower lip, the lower lip swollen, 3-pouched, inconspicuously 3-toothed; calyces tubular, 5-7 mm long, hairy, 4-lobed, becoming papery in fruit; stamens 4, slightly exserted.
Fruits:
Capsules, round, flattened, 4-6 mm long; seeds 20 to 30, about 1 mm long, with a tight-fitting, netted coat. vol5_6
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 Triphysaria pusilla
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) |
236 | 213 | 259 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
32 | 0 | 55 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
170 | 60 | 240 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
1 | 0 | 3 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
|||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
27 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
|||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
|||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Vernally moist, open, grassy sites in the lowland zone; locally frequent on S Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, rare on the adjacent mainland; S to CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Orthocarpus pusillus Benth.
Orthocarpus pusillus var. densiuscuus (Gandog.) D.D. Keck
Taxonomic Keys
1. Stamens slightly exserted from the upper lip; corollas 4-6 mm long...............Triphysaria pusilla
1. Stamens not exserted from the upper lip; corollas 12-22 mm long....................Triphysaria versicolor |