Participant Info

Species

Orthocarpus purpureoalbus

Family

Orobanchaceae

CommonName

purple owl clover

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1986

LatestDate

2014

Ecosystem

basin, foothill

Geobotanical

SSanjuans, LBasin

Counties

Conejos

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Mary E. McDonald: Conejos Co, 1 Aug 2014; off of Forest Service Road 103(2)B between Los Mogotes and the New Mexico border

Comments

Of purple owl clover there have been only 7 Watershed observations, all in Conejos CO, for instance by Terrace Reservoir and near Mogotes. The plant grows in xeric conditions, in gravelly or sandy soil. Orthocarpus purpureoalbus is predominantly Southwest in distribution, and the Watershed occurrences mark nearly its northeastern limit. It follows the Rio Grade drainage through New Mexico almost to the Mexican border but no farther down stream.

Annotation