San Francisco owl's-clover facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Francisco owl's-clover |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Triphysaria
|
| Species: |
floribunda
|
Triphysaria floribunda is a special flowering plant. People often call it the San Francisco owl's-clover. It belongs to the Orobanchaceae plant family. This plant is quite rare!
You can only find it in California. It lives especially around the San Francisco Bay Area. It grows along the coast in places like Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties. It likes to live in grassy areas near the ocean. Sometimes it even grows on a special type of soil called serpentine soil.
What Does It Look Like?
The San Francisco owl's-clover is an annual herb. This means it lives for only one year. It grows a stem that can be a bit hairy or smooth. The stem is usually yellow-brown and can reach about 30 centimeters tall. That's about the length of a school ruler!
How It Gets Food
Like many plants in its family, this owl's-clover is a facultative root parasite. This means it can make its own food using sunlight. But it also likes to "borrow" nutrients from other plants! It does this by attaching to their roots. It uses special parts called haustoria to tap into the other plant's food supply.
Leaves and Flowers
Its leaves are green and can be up to 4 centimeters long. They are divided into several thin, pointed parts.
The flowers grow in a spike, which is like a tall cluster. Each flower has two main parts. There's a narrow, greenish upper part. Below it is a wider part that looks like two pouches. These pouches are usually yellowish or white.
