''Eriodictyon sessilifolium,'' known by the common names Baja California yerba santa, sessile-leaved yerba santa or sessileleaf yerba santa is a perennial shrub in the Boraginaceae family, near-endemic to Baja California but also rarely found in the southern California, in a locality near Poway.

Description

This species grows in a perennial

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 ...

habit. The stem is 1 to 3 m. Leaves are sessile, with the blade 6 to 12 cm, 2 to 5 cm wide, shaped oblanceolate to oblong, coarse-toothed. The upper surface of the leaves are sparse to coarse-hairy, while the bottom face is sparsely to moderately coarse-hairy on the veins, stalked-glandular on all veins, with short hairs between veins. The

margin Margin may refer to: Physical or graphical edges *Margin (typography), the white space that surrounds the content of a page *Continental margin, the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust *Leaf ...

is slightly rolled under between the teeth. The

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

and

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

are hirsute. The flower is mostly coarse-hairy throughout, including on the filaments and ovaries. The

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

lobes of the flower are 5 mm, while the

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

is 12 to 15 mm long, funnel shaped, and colored lilac purple. The fruits are 5 mm large, and also coarse-hairy. The chromosome count is n=14. Flowering is from April to June. File:Sessile-leaved Yerba Santa 3.jpg, Detail of the leaves and inflorescence. File:Sessile-leaved Yerba Stanta imported from iNaturalist photo 50475130 on 14 December 2021.jpg, Detail of inflorescence. File:Sessile-leaved Yerba Santa 2.jpg, In habitat near Ensenada. File:Sessile-leaved Yerba Santa imported from iNaturalist photo 41827291 on 14 December 2021.jpg, Note the sessile leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This plant is mostly found in Baja California, from Ensenada south to San Quintin. An occurrence was found in 2015 near

Poway, California Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The unincorporated community became a city on December 1, 1980. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city has a population of 49,701 as of 2 ...

, growing on Santiago Peak metavolcanics. The plant grows on slopes, ridges, and ravines, along with disturbed areas, grassland, and chaparral. It is found from an elevation of 25 to 880 meters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15589780 sessilifolium Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Flora of Baja California Flora of California Plants described in 1885 Taxa named by Edward Lee Greene Flora without expected TNC conservation status