Hound’s Tongue

Pacific, Grand, or Western Hound’s Tongue, Adelinia
Adelinia grandis
NATIVE

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

• Eudicotyledon
  • Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
• Borage Family (Boraginaceae)
• Perennial herb
• Leaves
  • Alternate (1 leaf at each junction with stem) and simple (not divided into leaflets)
  • Broad and up to 8 in. long
• Flowers
  • Clusters of flowers, pink in bud changing to blue
  • Five fused petals with white appendages forming a central crown
  • Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
• Fruit is a set of 4 nutlets (a small, dry fruit that does not split open, derived from a multi-chambered ovary), though some may not develop
• Height can exceed 2 ft.

Distribution

• Native to California
  • Grows in woodlands and in shady areas in chaparral
  • See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
• Outside California, grows from British Columbia south into California
• Grows at elevations to 5,600 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

• Wildlife
  • Visited by native bees, flies, and hummingbirds (Burke 2024; Bressette)
  • Larval food source (host) for some butterflies and moths, i.e. wild forget-me-not moth (Gnophaela latipennis) and crambid snout moth (Udea itysalis)
• Native people
  • Grated roots used to treat stomach aches and venereal diseases, and as a dressing for burns
  • Roots cooked and eaten

Name Derivation

• Adelinia (a-de-LIN-ee-a) – named for Adeline Etta Cohen (2014- ) by her father, botanist Dr. James Cohen in 2015
• grandis (GRAN-dis) – from the Latin for “big” or “showy”
• Hound’s-tongue – for the shape of the large leaves
  • Some Native people called this plant ‘coyote ears’ (Breckling 2008)

Notes

• Flowers change color, perhaps telling pollinators whether a specific flower is worth visiting for pollen and nectar
  • Flowers from more than 70 plant families use color changes to direct pollinators; documented examples include forget-me-nots (Myosotis) and heliotrope (Heliotropium), also in the Borage family (Weiss 1991)
  • Bees can see blue colors, but not reds (Riddle 2016)
  • Immature pink flowers may signal to bees, “Not ready; move on”; the mature blue flowers, “Ready for pollination”; and the fading blue-purple of the aging flowers, “I’m done; don’t bother”
• Bees perceive ultraviolet colors of the nectar appendages, which appear white to us (Breckling 2008)
• Nutlets have hooks (cf. velcro) that catch on passing animals to aid in dispersal
• Scientific name changed in 2021 from Cynoglossum grande
  • This was an especially apt (and beloved) name as Cynoglossum came from the Greek for “dog’s tongue”

ID Tips

• May be confused with forget-me-nots (Myosotis species)
  • Hound’s tongue has larger, wider leaves; its flower center is white
  • Non-native forget-me-nots have much smaller, narrower leaves; their flower centers are yellow

At Edgewood

• Found in woodlands, especially in dappled shade
  • See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
• Flowers February – April

Specific References

Breckling, B. 2008. Spring Wildflowers of Henry W. Coe State Park and the Inland San Francisco Bay Area. Pine Ridge Association.

Bressette, D.K. Native flowers for attracting hummingbirds. Habitat Horticulture PNW.

Burke Museum Herbarium. 2024. Adelinia grandis. Burke Herbarium Image Collection. University of Washington.

Riddle, S. 2016, May 20. How bees see and why it matters. Bee Culture: The Magazine of American Beekeeping.

Weiss, M. 1991, Nov 21. Floral color changes as cues for pollinators. Nature 354: 227-229.

General References

Calflora Database. 2014. Berkeley, California.

Calscape. 2018. California Native Plant Society.

Charters, M.L. 2015. California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations.

Charters, M.L. 2017. Southern California Wildflowers: Guide to the Pronunciation of Specific, Generic and Family Names.

Corelli, T. 2004. Flowering Plants of Edgewood Natural Preserve (2nd. ed.). Monocot Press, Half Moon Bay, California.

Dave’s Garden.

Elpel, T.J. 2013. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, Pony, Montana.

Flora of North America. efloras.org.

Harris, J.G., and M.W. Harris. 2013. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah.

Keator, G. 2009. California Plant Families. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

Native American Ethnobotany DB.

Regents of the University of California. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.