Taxon Report

Pilostyles thurberi Gray

Thurber's pilostyles

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Pilostyles thurberi, commonly known as Thurber's pilostyles, is a perennial herb (parasitic) in the Apodanthaceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Sonoran desert scrub, growing at elevations from 0 to 365 meters. Pilostyles thurberi is ranked 4.3, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Pilostyles thurberi Gray
Common Name:	Thurber's pilostyles
Family:	Apodanthaceae
Element Code:	PDRAF01010
USDA Plants Symbol:	PITH
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial herb (parasitic)
Blooming Period: Dec-Apr	Dec-Apr
Elevation:	0-365 (0-1200)
General Habitats:	Sonoran desert scrub
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.3
Global Rank:	G5
State Rank:	S4
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	26
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	1
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	25

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Imperial (IMP), San Diego (SDG)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Grays Well NE (3211467), Borrego Mountain (3311622), Brawley NW (3211586), Cactus (3211478), Carrizo Mtn. (3211671), Clark Lake (3311633), Coyote Wells (3211568), Fonts Point (3311632), Harpers Well (3311518), In-ko-pah Gorge (3211661), Kane Spring (3311517), Kane Spring NW (3311528), Mount Signal (3211566), Painted Gorge (3211578), Plaster City (3211577), Seventeen Palms (3311631), Shell Reef (3311621), Superstition Mtn. (3211587), Sweeney Pass (3211672), Yuha Basin (3211567)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	1
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	9	35 %
Military operations	9	34%

Notes



Grows inside the stems of Psorothamnus, especially P. emoryi; flowers on the stems of its host. See Fremontia 5(3):20-22 (1977) for species account, and Madroño 26(4):189 (1979) for distributional information.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 5 February 2025].