''Linanthus killipii'', known by the common name Baldwin Lake linanthus, is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family.Jepson eFlora (TJM2): ''Linanthus killipii''
/ref>Calflora Database: ''Linanthus killipii''
/ref>

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 els ...

to the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain ...

of southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, where it is known from only a few occurrences in the vicinity of Baldwin Lake, a natural intermittent alkali lake near to the east of

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...

reservoir. It grows at elevations of . The wildflower is a member of the flora in the rare

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

pebble plain habitat type on the north side of the lake, and of open meadows in the adjacent montane

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 Mediterrane ...

, pinyon-juniper woodland, and

red fir ''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...

forest habitats. Calflora.net Blog: "Pebble Plains at Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve" (with photo gallery)
by Michael L. Charters, April 2012. The diversity of Big Bear Valley Pebble Plains species has been compared to that of coral reefs, and include 17 protected plant species and four rare kinds of butterflies KBHR radio: "Pebble Plain Habitat… Only in Big Bear"

Description

''Linanthus killipii'' is a small annual herb producing a hairy stem from tall. The leaves are divided into needle-like linear lobes each up to in length. 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 ...

is an array of a few tiny flowers, each funnel-shaped with white lobes marked with purple at the bases and joined at a yellow throat. The bloom period is May and June.

Conservation

The pebble plain population is within the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve Other populations are threatened by development and vehicles. It is a listed Endangered species on the

California Native Plant Society The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)3) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to con ...

Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants.California Native Plant Society, Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02): ''Leptosiphon acicularis''
. accessed 1 April 2016.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Linanthus killipii'' (Baldwin Lake linanthus)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Linanthus killipii''UC CalPhotos gallery of ''Linanthus killipii''
killipii Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of San Bernardino County, California Natural history of the Transverse Ranges ~ ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Polemoniaceae-stub