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Chloropyron molle ssp. molle, or soft bird's beak, is a rare annual plant found in in coastal and inland salt marshes only in Contra Costa, Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano counties in California (see blue distribution dots on map below).

It is a hemi-parasitic plant that gets part of its nutritional needs from host plants including Distichlis spicata, or salt grass, and Salicornia spp., or pickleweed.

Jaclyn Lim from East Bay Regional Park District conducting Chloropyron molle ssp. molle surveys.

Agencies, organizations, and individuals use the Calflora Database to track rare (and other) plant populations and any changes over time. Users create polygons in Calflora indicating the area the species covers. They may opt to include the plant count and / or percent cover of the species within the polygon, and link the observation to previous years to show change over time.

This year, plant counts for Chloropyron molle ssp. molle populations have been lower than in past years, perhaps related to extreme drought and/or heat conditions.

Chloropyron molle ssp. molle photo by R. A. Chasey

The Calflora Database includes plant observations from hundreds of sources. We are

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