Eryngium pendletonensis
Encyclopedia
Eryngium pendletonensis (syn.
E. pendletonense) is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family
known by the common name Pendleton button-celery. It is endemic to northern San Diego County, California
, where it is known from four occurrences along the coastline between Oceanside
and the Orange County
border, including land within Camp Pendleton
. It grows on vernally moist coastal grassland
and coastal sage scrub
habitat with clay
soils. It was first described as a species in 1999.
This is a squat perennial
herb
with spreading stems up to 20 centimeters long with a basal rosette of leaves at the base. The leaves are long and very narrow with abrupt, pointed lobes extending out nearly perpendicular. The leaves may extend out from the base of the plant up to 25 centimeters. Plants may be colonial, with two or more plants growing in a bundle that appears to be one plant at first glance. The inflorescence
is a cyme of up to 19 flowers with sharp triangular or lance-shaped bract
s around the base. Each flower has white petals measuring 1 millimeter long and sepal
s which are slightly larger.
This rare plant is threatened by introduced plant species
, changes in the hydrology
of the habitat, and military activity at Camp Pendleton.
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
E. pendletonense) is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
known by the common name Pendleton button-celery. It is endemic to northern San Diego County, California
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
, where it is known from four occurrences along the coastline between Oceanside
Oceanside, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...
and the Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
border, including land within Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and serves as its prime amphibious training base...
. It grows on vernally moist coastal grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
and coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the...
habitat with clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
soils. It was first described as a species in 1999.
This is a squat perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herb
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
with spreading stems up to 20 centimeters long with a basal rosette of leaves at the base. The leaves are long and very narrow with abrupt, pointed lobes extending out nearly perpendicular. The leaves may extend out from the base of the plant up to 25 centimeters. Plants may be colonial, with two or more plants growing in a bundle that appears to be one plant at first glance. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a cyme of up to 19 flowers with sharp triangular or lance-shaped bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s around the base. Each flower has white petals measuring 1 millimeter long and sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s which are slightly larger.
This rare plant is threatened by introduced plant species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
, changes in the hydrology
Hydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
of the habitat, and military activity at Camp Pendleton.