About Clinopodium chandleri (Brandegee) P.D.Cantino & Wagstaff
Clinopodium chandleri is a small shrub that grows slender branches up to half a meter long from a woody stem base. Its toothed or wavy-edged leaves have hairy blades that reach up to 1.5 centimeters long and wide, and they are borne on short petioles. All above-ground plant parts are glandular and aromatic. Flowers grow from the leaf axils. Each flower is bell-shaped with a tubular throat, its corolla ranges from white to lavender, and it is less than a centimeter long. This species is distributed from southern California in the United States to northwestern Baja California in Mexico. It grows on rocky slopes and in chaparral across the Peninsular Ranges, from the Santa Ana Mountains south to Ensenada. It only grows on specialized substrates, specifically metavolcanic soil. In the area northeast of Ensenada, where this species overlaps with Clinopodium ganderi, it forms a hybrid species. Clinopodium chandleri is threatened by residential development, foot traffic (especially trampling near trails), agriculture, and recreational activities.
