''Lepechinia cardiophylla'' is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names Santa Ana pitcher sage and heart-leaved pitcher sage. A broad-leaved fragrant shrub, it has distinct pitcher-shaped flowers. It is native to the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

and found in the

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside co ...

of Southern California, a few locations in San Diego County, and some of the coastal mountains of northern Baja California. Few populations of the plant are known and many of them are located in areas that are threatened by development and other human activity.

Description

''Lepechinia cardiophylla'' is an aromatic

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

with branching stems covered in resin glands. The hairy, glandular leaves are heart-shaped to oval-shaped and often toothed along the edges. The

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

inflorescence bears flowers on prominent

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

. Each flower is a cuplike calyx of glandular sepals around a tubular white to lavender corolla. The corolla is curled back at the mouth into small lips. The fruit is a dark colored, hairless body a few millimeters long which develops within the calyx of sepals.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

Carl Epling Carl Clawson Epling (15 April 1894 – 17 November 1968) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for being the major authority on the Lamiaceae (mint family) of the Americas from the 1920s to the 1960s. In his later years he als ...

in 1948. It is characterized by its strongly

cordate Cordate is an adjective meaning 'heart-shaped' and is most typically used for: * Cordate (leaf shape), in plants * Cordate axe, a prehistoric stone tool See also * Chordate A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordat ...

leaves that are broadly ovate in outline. It can be distinguished by the shape and size of the leaves from ''Lepechinia calycina'' and from ''Lepechinia fragrans'' by the texture and shape of the calyx.

Distribution and habitat

''Lepechinia cardiophylla'' was first described from the chaparral of the

of Orange County, California, where it is mostly concentrated. A disjunct population is located in San Diego County, around Iron Mountain in Poway, occupying the intermediate gap between the larger populations in the Santa Anas and the ones in Baja California. In southern San Diego County, the species is instead replaced by the distinct ''Lepechinia ganderi''. In Baja California, this species is found abundantly on the

Cerro Bola The Cerro Bola is a coastal metavolcanic mountain formation in northwestern Baja California. The Cerro Bola, along with the nearby mountain Cerro Gordo form the highest elevation areas of Tijuana Municipality. Because of its prominence, the trans ...

, and is distributed south to the coastal mountains of Ensenada to

Ejido Eréndira Ejido Eréndira is a small community located in the municipality of Ensenada in the state of Baja California. It is 100 km south of the city of Ensenada. It has a population of 1,461 people Its distribution is possibly relictual. This species is primarily found growing in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

and cismontane woodland. In Orange County it is associated with Exchequer soils, while in San Diego County, Iron Mountain has primarily Friant rocky fine sandy loams. The populations in Baja California, such as on the Cerro Bola, are found on volcanic derived soils.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Lepechinia cardiophylla''USDA Plants Profile: Lepechinia cardiophylla''Lepechinia cardiophylla'' - Photo gallery
cardio Flora of California Flora of Baja California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of Orange County, California Santa Ana Mountains {{Lamiaceae-stub