Palmate-Bracted Bird's-Beak
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Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

PALMATE-BRACTED BIRD'S-BEAK
(Cordylanthus palmatus)

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 51:23765; July 1, 1986)

CRITICAL HABITAT: None designated.

RECOVERY PLAN:Recovery plan for the upland species of the San Joaquin Valley, California, September 30. 1998. (pdf format)

DESCRIPTION:

Palmate-bracted bird's-beak (Cordylanthus palmatus) is an annual herb in the snapdragon family (Scrophulariaceae). The plants are 4-12 inches tall and highly branched. The stems and leaves are grayish green and sometimes covered with salt crystals excreted by glandular hairs. See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of the species.

Small pale whitish flowers, ½-inch to 1 inch long, are arranged in dense clusters (spikes) and densely surrounded by herbaceous leaf-like bracts. Like other Cordylanthus species, the petals are divided into two lips. The upper one is shaped like a bird's-beak, leading to the common name of the genus. Seedlings grow in late March or April. Flowers bloom from late spring through summer.

Like other members of Cordylanthus and related genera, palmate-bracted bird's-beak is partially parasitic on the roots of other plants. Its host plant may be salt grass (Distichlis spicata) (See Endangered Species Recovery Program profile.). Other endangered bird's beaks of Northern California include the soft bird's-beak and the Pennell's bird's-beak.

DISTRIBUTION:

Palmate bracted bird's-beak grows on seasonally-flooded, saline-alkali soils in lowland plains and basins at elevations of less than 500 feet. Within these areas, it grows primarily along the edges of channels and drainages, with a few individuals scattered in seasonally-wet depressions, alkali scalds (barren areas with a surface crust of salts) and grassy areas. Palmate-bracted bird's-beak grows in valley sink scrub and alkali meadow natural communities in association with other species tolerant of high salt concentrations, such as iodine bush (Allenrolfea occidentalis), alkali heath (Frankenia salina), glasswort (Salicornia subterminalis), seepweed (Suaeda moquinii) and salt grass (Distichlis spicata).

Historically, the species is known from scattered locations in Fresno and Madera counties in the San Joaquin Valley, San Joaquin, Yolo, and Colusa counties in the Sacramento Valley and the Livermore Valley area of Alameda County. It is currently known to occur in 21 locations in the Sacramento, Livermore and San Joaquin Valleys. These include Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Glenn County, Delevan NWR in Colusa County, Colusa NWR in Colusa County, and the combined Alkali Sink Ecological Reserve and Mendota Wildlife Management Area.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Saline-alkali soils and alkali sink scrub habitats were historically rare in central California and those few that did exist have been greatly reduced by soil reclamation and draining of seasonal wetlands, conversion of land to agricultural use, urbanization, livestock grazing, and more recently by off-road vehicle use and trash dumping. The rarity of saline-alkali soils with natural vegetation and the intensive agricultural and urban development within the species' range make the likelihood of finding additional colonies remote.

Population fluctuations are common in the palmate-bracted bird's-beak. These oscillations may be a result of changes in pollination success, rainfall patterns, freshwater influence and marsh pollution. Researchers should take into account the unreliability of a single-season survey.

This species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in May 1984. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Brown, N. L. and E. A. Cypher. Endangered Species Recovery Program profile.

Center for Conservation Biology. 1994. Conservation of the palmate-bracted bird's-beak, Cordylanthus palmatus. Stanford University. Stanford, CA.

Coats, R., M.A. Showers, and B. Pavlik. 1993. Management plan for an alkali sink and its endangered plant Cordylanthus palmatus. Environmental Management. 17:115-127.

Holland, R.F. 1986. Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities of California. California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1986. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Cordylanthus palmatus (Palmate-Bracted Bird’s-Beak)

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1998. Recovery plan for upland species of the San Joaquin Valley, California. Region 1, Portland, Oregon.

General Information about California Plants

Photo credit: Palmate-Bracted Bird's-Beak © 2003 George W. Hartwell Calphoto ID: 0000 0000 0603 0566

Prepared by Endangered Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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