Yellow Bush Snapdragon
Keckiella antirrhinoides
Family: Plantaginaceae
Semi-evergreen, upright shrub growing 6-9 feet tall, not nearly as wide. Spring into summer yellow snapdragon-like flowers appear. Dry capsular fruits follow the flowers.
Full sun to shade, moderate water, hardy to at least 10°F.
The flowers attract all kinds of nectar-seeking insects like hummingbirds, butterflies, etc. Larval host for the Variable Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona), and the moths Austramathes fortis, and Sympistis singularis.
Keckiella is named for David Daniels Keck (1903-1995) an American botanist, while antirrhinoides means like Antirrhinum (snapdragon). There are 7 species of Keckiella native to the American southwest, especially California.
This plant is used externally and internally for medicine.
Found on rocky slopes and in outwash slopes from 1,500-5,000 ft. in Arizona, southern California, and Baja California.
Photo by Chelsea E. Martin, iNaturalist
Keckiella antirrhinoides on SEINET
Flower details of Keckiella antirhinoides, photo by Joe Decruyenaere, iNaturalist
Heartleaf Keckiella (Keckiella cordifolia) is an evergreen or deciduous shrub (depending on lows), growing about 5’ high and about 8’ wide. Summer blooms loved by hummingbirds. Full to part sun, moderate water, root hardy to 20°F. Found in dry, brushy slopes & canyons below 4000 ft. in California and Baja California. Photo by smfang on iNaturalist
Keckiella ternata is an upright shrub growing to 6’ tall, only about 2’ wide. Summer bloomer with scarlet flowers (they can sometimes be orange), loved by hummingbirds. Full sun, moderate water, hardy to 20°F. Native to the mountains of southern California and Baja California, where it grows in several local habitat types, including chaparral and woodland.Photo by ooohdaniel, iNaturalist