''Trichostema rubisepalum'' is a species of flowering plant in the

mint family The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, ...

known by the common name Hernandez's bluecurls.

Distribution

The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It has a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

occurring in two main locations: the southern

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley are ...

in southern

San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for "St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,209. The coun ...

, and the western

Sierra Nevada foothills :''See Sierra Nevada for general information about the mountain range in the United States.'' The ecology of the Sierra Nevada, located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, is diverse and complex: the plants and animals are a significant ...

, primarily within

Mariposa County Mariposa County () is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,131. The county seat is Mariposa. It is located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Fresno, east of ...

and

Tuolumne County Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora. Tuolumne County comprises the ...

.Calflora: ''Trichostema rubisepalum''
— with distribution map. The species is a strict serpentine endemic of the Red Hills Serpentine Mass in Tuolumne County and the New Idria Serpentine Mass, Laguna Mountain Serpentine Mass, and Hepsedam Peak Serpentine Mass in southern San Benito County. Its habitat consists of seasonally moist areas including seasonal seeps and stream and river bed edges on serpentine substrates.

Description

''Trichostema rubisepalum'' is annual herb that grows to approximately in maximum height. Its aromatic foliage is coated in long and short glandular and nonglandular hairs. The leaves are lance-shaped. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a long cyme of flowers growing from the stem between each leaf pair. Each flower has a hairy calyx of pointed

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s which often take on a dark red coloration. The flower has a tubular throat and a lipped, purple corolla. The four protruding, curved

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are about half a centimeter long. Its bloom period is from June to July.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Trichostema rubisepalum'' (Hernandez bluecurls)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Trichostema rubisepalum''California Native Plant Society Rare Plant ProfileUC Photos gallery: ''Trichostema rubisepalum''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7841031 rubisepalum Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of Mariposa County, California Natural history of San Benito County, California Natural history of Tuolumne County, California ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status Taxa named by Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer