Hickman's potentilla
Encyclopedia
Potentilla hickmanii is an endangered
perennial
herb
of the rose family. This rare plant species
is found in a narrowly restricted range in two locations in coastal northern California
, in Monterey County, and in very small colonies in San Mateo County. This small wildflower, endemic
to western slopes of the outer coastal range along the Pacific Ocean coast, produces bright yellow blossoms through spring and summer.
This species was formerly thought to be growing in Sonoma County but that population has been recently reclassified as another species, Potentilla uliginosa and is presumed extinct in that county.
This plant, along with many other threatened species in the northern California Floristic Province
, has been designated as a species meriting protection by the U.S. Government, State of California, local governments and private conservation groups. These designations have led to blueprints for protection of Hickman's potentilla in the form of official endangerment classifications and a species Recovery Plan, the latter promulgated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
.
. The stem is prostrate five to forty five centimeters long. Blooming occurs between April and August. The hypanthium
is three to six millimeters wide, with yellow obchordate petal
s six to eleven millimeters in length. Up to ten inflorescence
s may present in a single organism
. Filaments are typically 1.5 to 4.0 millimeters in length, while anthers are only about one millimeter in size; moreover, the pistils generally number about ten and the slender styles are about two to three millimeters long.
The somewhat subglabrous leaves are pinnate
ly compound into generally six paired, palmately cleft leaflet
s. These basal leaves range from six to twenty five millimeters in length with individual leaflets two to eight millimeters long and about two millimeters wide. There are four to seven leaflets per side, in a separated or overlapped configuration. The leaflets are wedge-shaped, typically having three to four teeth (lobes) and originate from about halfway along the leaf stem. The smooth fruit
s are approximately two millimeters in diameter, tan in color, looking like miniature watermelon seeds
and at another area in coastal San Mateo County,. The Monterey population is within the municipal boundaries of the city of Monterey
growing in a native grassland opening of the Monterey pine
forest at an old summer camp site. Plantings have been made, as attempts to establish new colonies in Monterey County at two areas the Point Lobos State Reserve, but those plantings failed by the summer of 2011 from the invasion of European weed grasses, and by the plantings situated too far from where the plants could easily be monitored or managed, and by planting in one site that was too wet for the species to survive.
Another coastal colony was discovered in Moss Beach, California
, in 1933 in a wetland
area at the mouth of San Vicente Creek; this colony was presumed extinct by at least the 1970s. Another population in San Mateo County was discovered in 1995 on the south slopes above Martini Creek
(USGS
quad reference Montara Mountain 3712254), on private land by biologists conducting surveys for the Devil's Slide highway project. In all cases the populations are found between altitude 10 to 135 meters. The habitat for this species includes native grassland meadows openings in pine forests, coastal bluff native perennial grasslands, and under pine trees in duff. The key to the habitat for this species, is the decomposed granite substrate that lies directly under the very fine-grained grassland topsoil.
, discovery site of Potentilla hickmanii is in a native grassland opening within the Monterey pine forest. The Monterey Peninsula is influenced by a marine climate that is pronounced due to the upwelling
of cool water from the Monterey submarine canyon. Rainfall is 40 to 50 centimeters per year, but summer fog drip
is a primary source of moisture for plants that would otherwise not be able to persist with such low precipitation
. Some taxa, such as the coastal closed-cone
pines and cypresses
are relict
stands, e.g. species that once extended more widely in the mesic
climate of the late Pleistocene
period, but then retreated to small pockets of cooler and wetter conditions along the coast ranges during the hotter, drier early Holocene
period between 6000 and 2000 BC.
Alice Eastwood
discovered P. hickmanii in the year 1900 on the Monterey Peninsula
, a region then considered the fringe of civilization. The Big Sur
wilderness lay just beyond, unpenetrated by any roads at that time. Eastwood, Curator of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences
in San Francisco was a pioneer biologist in exploring this remote area. On an expedition to amass specimens of rare plants from this southern reach of Monterey County, she retrieved a specimen of this previously unrecorded plant and named this species after J. B. Hickman. Hickman was her brother and guide on that collecting trip, and was the Horticultural Commissioner of Monterey County.
. In the early to mid 1990s, a series of steps occurred that led to federal classification as an endangered species. Certain land development proposals came before the city of Monterey
related to pine forest habitat area. In preparing an Environmental Impact Report, information on occurrences of Hickman's potentilla was published. Subsequently in 1995 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) acted on this new information regarding a species that some thought extinct, and promulgated a notice of intent
to classify the species as endangered.
In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
officially classified Hickman's potentilla as endangered. After the FWS nomination process, further colonies in San Mateo and Sonoma Counties became defined. This chain of events illustrates the role of the Environmental Impact Statement
in elucidating scientific information germane to the understanding of an entire species, beyond the intended role of analyzing effects on the physical environment of a specific project.
Potentilla hickmanii continues to be pressured by urban development, especially on the Monterey Peninsula
with chief elements of golf courses and housing to support the expanding human population. These pressures are partially mitigated by species protection and recovery plans, the latter of which is recognized by the county, local cities, Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments and the State of California. However, the lack of any funding to implement the any recovery plans, causes the plans to only exist on paper, and the species is still in serious jeopardy without any annual action or recovery activities on the ground.
The federal Recovery Plan (internationally called Biodiversity Action Plan
) is general in nature, calling for more natural history study, population surveys, generalized protection and a vague reference to new plantings. Ironically one of the best efforts to enhance the species may come from a program that is seemingly unaware of the species. The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Master Plan calls for natural vegetative enhancement of Vicente Creek (exact location of the 1933 colony), including removal of fill and debris
from the creek and extirpation of invasive plants. A chief rationale for this plan is protection of the California red-legged frog
, also an endangered species.
As a further measure of protection, Monterey County, California
has explicitly included Hickman's potentilla as a species to be protected via its Local Coastal Program pursuant to state of California requirements. While the species is listed as federally and state endangered, the California Native Plant Society
has set the further designation of "seriously endangered". This appellation is provided to any plant that has fewer than six occurrences, exists on less than 2000 acres (8 km²) of land area or has fewer than 1000 known organisms. Hickman's potentilla satisfies the first criterion.
The San Mateo County populations occurs in small, scattered native grassland sites on Montara Mountain and are currently threatened with extinction by the encroaching invasive European weed grasses like Brachypodium, Vulpia, Holcus and two species of Briza or rattlesnake grass, which crowd out the plants. The annual weeds like Plantago and flax and the perennial weeds like Cat's Ears and Queen Anne's Lace are also invading its habitat. Nearby one population, eight different weeds cover 45% of the area, and the seven other native plants of the native grassland community, make up 55% cover. Each year, all the weeds need to be cleared away at a sufficient distance from the Hickmanii plants, and the area restored to as close to 100% native plant cover as possible, otherwise some of these populations could face extinction soon.
An even more formidable challenge for the future of the San Mateo County populations, will be the taller and more aggressive perennial exotic invasive grass, Harding grass (Phalaris), growing two meters tall and forming a solid stand on the next mountain ridge, only a few hundred meters from the two largest colonies--this nearby infestation has the appearance of a weed-tsunami, engulfing every native plant in its path, and a tiny five cm. tall Hickmanii plant does not have a chance without assistance.
Plant counts for each insitu population for this species:
Monterey County, Indian Village, Pebble Beach, between 1979 and 2008 the population varied between 5 and 35 plants, and there is a reference to outplanted Hickmaniis existing at this site in the 2009 USFWS report. However, the original population in 2011 is presumed extinct at this site and the existing plants may be the survivors from plantings of nursery raised seedlings grown in potting soil. The nursery grown origin of individual plants could be confirmed, by examining the roots and finding remains of potting soil around such plants. In winter, the plants that still have any potting soil around their roots, may benefit by having the artificial soil removed and the plants replanted bare-rooted, as the potting soil could wick moisture from around the roots in summer.
Monterey County, Eastwood collection, unable to locate site.
Monterey County, Pacific Grove near the reservoir on road to Cypress point, last seen 1968, presumed extinct.
Monterey County, Point Lobos State Reserve, experimental plantings at two sites, presumed extinct.
San Mateo County, Montara Mountain, north of town of Montara--Eight populations found, counted and mapped in 2008 . Population #1= 4 plants, Pop.#2=11 plants, Pop.#3=about 1,060 plants, Pop.#4=about 2,000 plants, Pop.#5=26 plants, Pop.#6=12 plants, Pop.#7=3 plants, Pop.#8=45 plants. UPDATE: By summer 2011, the species largest population #4, as well as #6, 7 and 8 were presumed extinct, as these populations were buried under a two meter tall, solid cover of exotic Harding grass. Population #3, that covering 30 meters by 230 meters in 2008, had diminished to only 14 meters by 20 meters, and only about 300 plants were observed.
San Mateo County, Moss Beach near Point Montara. Presumed extinct, last seen in 1933.
There may exist, some exsitu Hickmanii plants grown in nurseries for research or study for example, or at universities or botanical gardens, but those numbers are unknown.
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
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
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
of the rose family. This rare plant species
Rare species
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
is found in a narrowly restricted range in two locations in coastal northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in Monterey County, and in very small colonies in San Mateo County. This small wildflower, endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to western slopes of the outer coastal range along the Pacific Ocean coast, produces bright yellow blossoms through spring and summer.
This species was formerly thought to be growing in Sonoma County but that population has been recently reclassified as another species, Potentilla uliginosa and is presumed extinct in that county.
This plant, along with many other threatened species in the northern California Floristic Province
California Floristic Province
The California Floristic Province is a floristic province with a Mediterranean climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora that bears similarities to floras found in other regions experiencing a winter rainfall, summer drought climate like the Mediterranean...
, has been designated as a species meriting protection by the U.S. Government, State of California, local governments and private conservation groups. These designations have led to blueprints for protection of Hickman's potentilla in the form of official endangerment classifications and a species Recovery Plan, the latter promulgated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
.
Description
Potentilla hickmanii is a long lived rosetted non-glandular flowering plant with a thick taprootTaproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
. The stem is prostrate five to forty five centimeters long. Blooming occurs between April and August. The hypanthium
Hypanthium
A hypanthium is a floral structure consisting of the bases of the sepals, petals, and stamens fused together. Its presence is diagnostic of many families, including the Rosaceae, Grossulariaceae, and Fabaceae...
is three to six millimeters wide, with yellow obchordate petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s six to eleven millimeters in length. Up to ten 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...
s may present in a single organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
. Filaments are typically 1.5 to 4.0 millimeters in length, while anthers are only about one millimeter in size; moreover, the pistils generally number about ten and the slender styles are about two to three millimeters long.
The somewhat subglabrous leaves are pinnate
Pinnate
Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts...
ly compound into generally six paired, palmately cleft leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s. These basal leaves range from six to twenty five millimeters in length with individual leaflets two to eight millimeters long and about two millimeters wide. There are four to seven leaflets per side, in a separated or overlapped configuration. The leaflets are wedge-shaped, typically having three to four teeth (lobes) and originate from about halfway along the leaf stem. The smooth fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s are approximately two millimeters in diameter, tan in color, looking like miniature watermelon seeds
Distribution and habitat
Potentilla hickmanii is currently known to occur in two coastal locations. The Federal Register documents colonies on the Monterey PeninsulaMonterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
and at another area in coastal San Mateo County,. The Monterey population is within the municipal boundaries of the city of Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
growing in a native grassland opening of the Monterey pine
Monterey Pine
The Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata, family Pinaceae, also known as the Insignis Pine or Radiata Pine is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California....
forest at an old summer camp site. Plantings have been made, as attempts to establish new colonies in Monterey County at two areas the Point Lobos State Reserve, but those plantings failed by the summer of 2011 from the invasion of European weed grasses, and by the plantings situated too far from where the plants could easily be monitored or managed, and by planting in one site that was too wet for the species to survive.
Another coastal colony was discovered in Moss Beach, California
Moss Beach, California
Moss Beach is a coastal census-designated place in San Mateo County, California, with a year 2010 census population of 3,103. Located in Moss Beach are the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a marine sanctuary; the Half Moon Bay Airport, the historic Moss Beach Distillery and the Seal Cove Inn, a...
, in 1933 in a wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
area at the mouth of San Vicente Creek; this colony was presumed extinct by at least the 1970s. Another population in San Mateo County was discovered in 1995 on the south slopes above Martini Creek
Martini Creek
Martini Creek is a coastal stream whose watershed lies entirely within San Mateo County, California, United States on the western exposures of the Montara mountain block, discharging to the Pacific Ocean. It flows about from its source on Montara Mountain to its mouth in Montara State Beach. This...
(USGS
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
quad reference Montara Mountain 3712254), on private land by biologists conducting surveys for the Devil's Slide highway project. In all cases the populations are found between altitude 10 to 135 meters. The habitat for this species includes native grassland meadows openings in pine forests, coastal bluff native perennial grasslands, and under pine trees in duff. The key to the habitat for this species, is the decomposed granite substrate that lies directly under the very fine-grained grassland topsoil.
History
The Monterey PeninsulaMonterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
, discovery site of Potentilla hickmanii is in a native grassland opening within the Monterey pine forest. The Monterey Peninsula is influenced by a marine climate that is pronounced due to the upwelling
Upwelling
Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water. The increased availability in upwelling regions results in high levels of primary...
of cool water from the Monterey submarine canyon. Rainfall is 40 to 50 centimeters per year, but summer fog drip
Fog drip
Fog drip is a type of precipitation that forms when fog droplets condense on the needles or leaves of trees or other objects, and drips to the ground....
is a primary source of moisture for plants that would otherwise not be able to persist with such low precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. Some taxa, such as the coastal closed-cone
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
pines and cypresses
Cupressus
The genus Cupressus is one of several genera within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group...
are relict
Relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....
stands, e.g. species that once extended more widely in the mesic
Mesic
Mesic may refer to:* Mesic, North Carolina, a town in the United States* Mesic habitat, a type of habitat...
climate of the late Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
period, but then retreated to small pockets of cooler and wetter conditions along the coast ranges during the hotter, drier early Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
period between 6000 and 2000 BC.
Alice Eastwood
Alice Eastwood
Alice Eastwood was a Canadian American botanist. Born in Toronto, she moved to the United States at 14, and from age twenty to thirty, was a teacher in Denver, Colorado and taught herself botany. In 1890 she assumed a post in the herbarium at the California Academy of Sciences...
discovered P. hickmanii in the year 1900 on the Monterey Peninsula
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
, a region then considered the fringe of civilization. The Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
wilderness lay just beyond, unpenetrated by any roads at that time. Eastwood, Curator of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
in San Francisco was a pioneer biologist in exploring this remote area. On an expedition to amass specimens of rare plants from this southern reach of Monterey County, she retrieved a specimen of this previously unrecorded plant and named this species after J. B. Hickman. Hickman was her brother and guide on that collecting trip, and was the Horticultural Commissioner of Monterey County.
Conservation status
In the year 1973 the state of California recognized Hickman's potentilla as an endangered speciesEndangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
. In the early to mid 1990s, a series of steps occurred that led to federal classification as an endangered species. Certain land development proposals came before the city of Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
related to pine forest habitat area. In preparing an Environmental Impact Report, information on occurrences of Hickman's potentilla was published. Subsequently in 1995 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
(FWS) acted on this new information regarding a species that some thought extinct, and promulgated a notice of intent
Public notice
Public notice is a notice given to the public regarding certain types of legal proceedings.-By government:Public notices are issued by a government agency or legislative body in certain rulemaking or lawmaking proceeding....
to classify the species as endangered.
In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
officially classified Hickman's potentilla as endangered. After the FWS nomination process, further colonies in San Mateo and Sonoma Counties became defined. This chain of events illustrates the role of the Environmental Impact Statement
Environmental impact statement
An environmental impact statement , under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EIS is a tool for decision making...
in elucidating scientific information germane to the understanding of an entire species, beyond the intended role of analyzing effects on the physical environment of a specific project.
Potentilla hickmanii continues to be pressured by urban development, especially on the Monterey Peninsula
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
with chief elements of golf courses and housing to support the expanding human population. These pressures are partially mitigated by species protection and recovery plans, the latter of which is recognized by the county, local cities, Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments and the State of California. However, the lack of any funding to implement the any recovery plans, causes the plans to only exist on paper, and the species is still in serious jeopardy without any annual action or recovery activities on the ground.
The federal Recovery Plan (internationally called Biodiversity Action Plan
Biodiversity Action Plan
A Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity...
) is general in nature, calling for more natural history study, population surveys, generalized protection and a vague reference to new plantings. Ironically one of the best efforts to enhance the species may come from a program that is seemingly unaware of the species. The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a marine reserve in California on the Pacific Ocean, located just north of Pillar Point Harbor and Mavericks in the San Mateo County community of Moss Beach. Moss Beach is located approximately south of San Francisco and north of Santa Cruz. The reserve is a holding...
Master Plan calls for natural vegetative enhancement of Vicente Creek (exact location of the 1933 colony), including removal of fill and debris
Debris
Debris is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc. The singular form of debris is debris...
from the creek and extirpation of invasive plants. A chief rationale for this plan is protection of the California red-legged frog
California Red-legged Frog
The California red-legged frog, Rana draytonii, is a moderate to large species of frog. It is known under the scientific name Rana draytonii, after being long included with the northern red-legged frog The California red-legged frog, Rana draytonii, is a moderate to large (4.4–14 cm) species...
, also an endangered species.
As a further measure of protection, Monterey County, California
Monterey County, California
Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...
has explicitly included Hickman's potentilla as a species to be protected via its Local Coastal Program pursuant to state of California requirements. While the species is listed as federally and state endangered, the California Native Plant Society
California Native Plant Society
The California Native Plant Society is a California not-for-profit organization that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve that flora. Its "paramount purpose is to preserve wild plants".-History:...
has set the further designation of "seriously endangered". This appellation is provided to any plant that has fewer than six occurrences, exists on less than 2000 acres (8 km²) of land area or has fewer than 1000 known organisms. Hickman's potentilla satisfies the first criterion.
The San Mateo County populations occurs in small, scattered native grassland sites on Montara Mountain and are currently threatened with extinction by the encroaching invasive European weed grasses like Brachypodium, Vulpia, Holcus and two species of Briza or rattlesnake grass, which crowd out the plants. The annual weeds like Plantago and flax and the perennial weeds like Cat's Ears and Queen Anne's Lace are also invading its habitat. Nearby one population, eight different weeds cover 45% of the area, and the seven other native plants of the native grassland community, make up 55% cover. Each year, all the weeds need to be cleared away at a sufficient distance from the Hickmanii plants, and the area restored to as close to 100% native plant cover as possible, otherwise some of these populations could face extinction soon.
An even more formidable challenge for the future of the San Mateo County populations, will be the taller and more aggressive perennial exotic invasive grass, Harding grass (Phalaris), growing two meters tall and forming a solid stand on the next mountain ridge, only a few hundred meters from the two largest colonies--this nearby infestation has the appearance of a weed-tsunami, engulfing every native plant in its path, and a tiny five cm. tall Hickmanii plant does not have a chance without assistance.
Plant counts for each insitu population for this species:
Monterey County, Indian Village, Pebble Beach, between 1979 and 2008 the population varied between 5 and 35 plants, and there is a reference to outplanted Hickmaniis existing at this site in the 2009 USFWS report. However, the original population in 2011 is presumed extinct at this site and the existing plants may be the survivors from plantings of nursery raised seedlings grown in potting soil. The nursery grown origin of individual plants could be confirmed, by examining the roots and finding remains of potting soil around such plants. In winter, the plants that still have any potting soil around their roots, may benefit by having the artificial soil removed and the plants replanted bare-rooted, as the potting soil could wick moisture from around the roots in summer.
Monterey County, Eastwood collection, unable to locate site.
Monterey County, Pacific Grove near the reservoir on road to Cypress point, last seen 1968, presumed extinct.
Monterey County, Point Lobos State Reserve, experimental plantings at two sites, presumed extinct.
San Mateo County, Montara Mountain, north of town of Montara--Eight populations found, counted and mapped in 2008 . Population #1= 4 plants, Pop.#2=11 plants, Pop.#3=about 1,060 plants, Pop.#4=about 2,000 plants, Pop.#5=26 plants, Pop.#6=12 plants, Pop.#7=3 plants, Pop.#8=45 plants. UPDATE: By summer 2011, the species largest population #4, as well as #6, 7 and 8 were presumed extinct, as these populations were buried under a two meter tall, solid cover of exotic Harding grass. Population #3, that covering 30 meters by 230 meters in 2008, had diminished to only 14 meters by 20 meters, and only about 300 plants were observed.
San Mateo County, Moss Beach near Point Montara. Presumed extinct, last seen in 1933.
There may exist, some exsitu Hickmanii plants grown in nurseries for research or study for example, or at universities or botanical gardens, but those numbers are unknown.
See also
- California coastal prairieCalifornia coastal prairieCalifornia coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome...
- Riparian zoneRiparian zoneA riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
- Marshland
- Monterey PineMonterey PineThe Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata, family Pinaceae, also known as the Insignis Pine or Radiata Pine is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California....
- Vernal poolVernal poolVernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
External links
- California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants
- USDA Plants Database Profile: Potentilla hickmanii
- U.S. Department of Agriculture - fact sheet for Potentilla hickmanii
- epa.gov: Full text of original Federal Register basis for listing as endangered species
- Harvard University article on Alice Eastwood
- USFWS 2009 Five Year Review of the status of Potentilla Hickmanii PDF file