Taxon Report

Pityopus californicus (Eastw.) H.F. Copel.

California pinefoot

Print Report


©2009 Barry Rice

Taxon Summary

Pityopus californicus, commonly known as California pinefoot, is a perennial herb (achlorophyllous) in the Ericaceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Broadleafed upland forest, Lower montane coniferous forest, North Coast coniferous forest, and Upper montane coniferous forest, growing at elevations from 15 to 2225 meters. Pityopus californicus is ranked 4.2, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Moderately threatened in California.

  Classification
Scientific Name:
 Pityopus californicus (Eastw.) H.F. Copel.
Common Name:
 California pinefoot
Family: Ericaceae
Element Code: PDMON05010
USDA Plants Symbol:
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History
Lifeform: perennial herb (achlorophyllous)
Blooming Period: (Mar-Apr)May-Aug (Mar-Apr)May-Aug
Elevation: 15-2225 (50-7300)
General Habitats: Broadleafed upland forest, Lower montane coniferous forest, North Coast coniferous forest, Upper montane coniferous forest
Microhabitat: Mesic
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status
CA Rare Plant Rank: 4.2
Global Rank: G4G5
State Rank:
 S4
State List: None
Fed List: None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB
Total Occurrences: 0
Element Occurrence Ranks:
   Excellent (A) 0
   Good (B) 0
   Fair (C) 0
   Poor (D) 0
   None (X) 0
   Unknown (U) 0

Location
California Endemic:  False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Del Norte (DNT), Fresno (FRE), Humboldt (HUM), Madera (MAD), Mendocino (MEN), Siskiyou (SIS), Trinity (TRI), Tulare (TUL)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Ah Pah Ridge (4112348), Arcata North (4012481), Bald Hills (4112328), Bark Shanty Gulch (4112345), Blake Mountain (4012355), Blocksburg (4012336), Blue Creek Mtn. (4112347), Blue Lake (4012388), Board Camp Mtn. (4012366), Bridgeville (4012347), Broken Rib Mtn. (4112386), Bull Creek (4012431), Burbeck (3912344), Childs Hill (4112461), Comptche (3912335), Crannell (4112411), Denny (4012384), Devils Punchbowl (4112376), Dutchmans Knoll (3912356), Elk (3912326), Fern Canyon (4112441), Fields Landing (4012462), Fish Lake (4112336), French Camp Ridge (4112327), General Grant Grove (3611868), Greenough Ridge (3912334), Hales Grove (3912377), Hennessy Peak (4012375), High Divide (4112481), Hiouchi (4112471), Holter Ridge (4112338), Hopkins Butte (4112325), Hupa Mountain (4112317), Iaqua Buttes (4012368), Johnsons (4112337), Kangaroo Mtn. (4112382), Klamath Glen (4112358), Korbel (4012378), Lincoln Ridge (3912366), Lonesome Ridge (4112346), Lord-ellis Summit (4012387), Mad River Buttes (4012367), Maple Creek (4012377), Mathison Peak (3912336), McWhinney Creek (4012461), Mendocino (3912337), Myers Flat (4012337), Northspur (3912345), Orick (4112431), Owl Creek (4012358), Panther Creek (4112318), Piercy (3912387), Redcrest (4012348), Requa (4112451), Rodgers Peak (4112421), Salyer (4012385), Scotia (4012441), Sherwood Peak (3912355), Ship Mountain (4112367), Sims Mountain (4012365), Smith River (4112482), Summit Valley (4112357), Taylor Peak (4012442), Tish Tang Point (4112315), Trinidad (4112412), Weitchpec (4112326), Weott (4012338), Westport (3912367), White Chief Mtn. (3711945), Willow Creek (4012386), Yager Junction (4012357)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB

Threat List Total: 0
EOs with Threat Listed: Total EOs % of EOs
0 0 %

Notes
State-listed as Sensitive in WA. SeeBulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 29(2):75 (1902) for original description, and Madroño 3:155 (1935) for revised nomenclature.
Threats:
Threatened by logging. 
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 16 April 2025].