Cordylanthus orcuttianus facts for kids

The Orcutt's bird's beak (Cordylanthus orcuttianus) is a very special and rare flowering plant. It belongs to the plant family Orobanchaceae. This plant is quite unique because there are only a few places where it grows naturally.

Meet Orcutt's Bird's Beak

This plant is an annual herb, which means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all within one year. It's not a tree or a bush that lives for many years. The Orcutt's bird's beak can grow up to about half a meter tall, which is like half the height of a typical door. Its stems and leaves can be green or have a reddish-green color. The whole plant is covered in stiff, tiny hairs.

What Does It Look Like?

The leaves of this plant can grow up to 8 centimeters long. They are divided into many narrow, thin parts, almost like tiny fingers. The flowers of the Orcutt's bird's beak grow in a very tight bunch. This cluster of flowers is called an inflorescence. Around these flower clusters are special leaf-like structures called bracts. These bracts are also divided into narrow segments, just like the leaves.

Each flower on the plant is about 2.5 centimeters long. The flowers have a unique look: they are like a white, pouch-shaped structure with a yellow tip. This pouch is surrounded by a protective outer layer called a calyx, which is made up of smaller parts called sepals.

Where Does It Live?

The Orcutt's bird's beak is native to a specific part of North America. You can find it in Baja California (a state in Mexico) and in the southern part of San Diego County, California in the United States. It likes to grow in a type of environment called "coastal scrub." This means it lives in areas near the coast where there are many low-growing shrubs and bushes. Because there are only a few places where this plant grows, it is considered a rare species.

Images for kids

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  The plant in August

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  The plant with inflorescences

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  The inflorescence

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  In habitat

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  The inflorescence in a hand