Stats

Lifespan

15-30 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Mediterranean chaparral

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

A woody chaparral shrub native to coastal California and Baja California, heartleaf keckiella produces vivid scarlet tubular flowers that are a magnet for hummingbirds from spring into summer. Its heart-shaped leaves give the species its name, and it thrives in the dry, rocky slopes where few other shrubs flower as boldly.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Lamiales

Family

Plantaginaceae

Genus

Keckiella

Species

Keckiella cordifolia