notes This was a particularly tall specimen for this taxon (towering to perhaps over a centimeter or two!! :-). If you look at the 'high-resolution file' link below, you can see more detail...in particular, the hyaline connective membrane between the calyx lobes, characteristic of many taxa in Polemoniaceae. This taxon was first discovered by Larry Hendrickson and Larry Sward in 2010 in open sandy habitat at the base of the Jacumba Mountains off I-8, in an area now occupied by a wind energy installation. Compared to virtually all other Linanthus species (even the small ones), this is a very tiny, inconspicuous plant that is exceedingly easy to overlook as it blends in so well with the coarse-grained granitic sands in which it grows.
It was recently described (in 2014) as a new subspecies of Linanthus maculatus [see pg. 71 of this article in Aliso 32(2)]. It has been bestowed a few common names: 'Jacumba Mountains Linanthus', 'Dos Cabezas Linanthus'...and my favorite 'Lilliputian Linanthus'.
For six years it was only known from the type locality, which is an area subject to wind energy development. So it was a happy occasion when another population was discovered by Fred Melgert and Carla Hoegen while they were hiking the Inner Pasture area of Anza Borrego State Park in Spring 2016.
The plants in this post were photographed while on a botanical field trip led by Tom Chester with the principle aim of trying to learn more about the extent of the population Fred & Carla found in the Inner Pasture area.
Those familiar with members of the tiny-flowered genus Nemacladus can appreciate how very small the flowers of L. maculatus emaculatus are by savoring Fred's photo here of a flower of L. maculatus emaculatus right next to a flower of Nemacladus longiflorus breviflorus. There's some eytmological humor in juxtaposing those two species...each of which have a self-contradictory latin name. (If only Fred could have squeezed in a flower of Eriogonum inflatum deflatum as well! :-)
