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Taxon  Report  
Orthocarpus luteus  Nutt.
Yellow owl's clover
Orthocarpus luteus is an annual herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Orthocarpus
Family: Orobanchaceae  
(Scrophulariaceae)
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Occurs usually in non wetlands, occasionally in wetlands

Communities: Sagebrush Scrub, Yellow Pine Forest, Northern Juniper Woodland

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS + POWO
Information about  Orthocarpus luteus from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (ORLU2)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[swcoloradowildflowers.com] Taxonomy: Thomas Nuttall collected the first specimen of this strangely lovely plant "in humid situations on the plains of the Missouri, near Fort Mandan" in 1812 (as quoted in Intermountain Flora) and named it in his 1818 Genera of North America Plants. Nuttall called the genus "Orthocarpus" because of its straight ("ortho") fruit ("carpus"). "Luteus" is Latin for "yellow". (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 05/13/2025).