#edaphicendemism

[birdsy-purplefishes]

Back to a cloudy day in early May, when I visited a population of #NolinaInterrata, AKA #DehesaBeargrass or #DehesaNolina. The entire US population of this species exists within a 6 square mile area in San Diego county and there are 3 small populations in Baja California. That’s it! Fortunately, almost all of them are very well protected. Unfortunately… that could change. If the wildfire regime they’re adapted to changes too much (and it is changing all throughout California & Western North America) they could be wiped out. I’ve lived near this plant almost my whole life and only found out about it within the last few years. I don’t think most people around here know about it. They only grow on this reddish #GabbroSoil that looks like the surface of Mars or something. #sandiegoendemicplant (almost!), #californianativeplants #californiaendemicplants #edaphicendemism #sandiegocounty #DehesaCalifornia (but actually not), #nolina #beargrasses #botany #rareplants #succulents (at San Diego County, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRDKUECjb3R/?utm_medium=tumblr

[birdsy-purplefishes]

#TetracoccusDioicus / #ParrysTetracoccus, #RedShrubbySpurge, #SanDiegoShrubbySpurge. I saw an abundance of these in bloom and fruiting the on the same misty day I visited the #NolinaInterrata (which you see in some of these shots). They both grow on #gabbrosoils and they’re both #rareplants but the #tetracoccus has a much larger range, from Orange and Riverside counties in California to around Ensenada in Baja California. As you could probably guess from the scientific name, these plants are #dioecious, meaning that individual plants have either male or female flowers. I think next year I’ll go look at them before they start to fruit & try to identify them by flower structure. These plants look a lot like bush rue (Cneoridium dumosum) to me & I’m not sure if I could tell them apart very easily if I looked at just the foliage. Both plants are lovely. I kind of wish that someone would cultivate the tetracoccus because it’s so pretty (and because it might be a good idea to have some more just case something happens to the wild populations). #picodenraceae #californianativeplants #sandiegonativeplants #socalnativeplants #edaphicendemism #rareplants #californiawildflowers (shrubs count as wildflowers imo) #chapparal #chaparralplantcommunity #rareplants #subbloom2021 (at San Diego County, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRPRmocDGYk/?utm_medium=tumblr

[birdsy-purplefishes]

#TetracoccusDioicus / #ParrysTetracoccus, #RedShrubbySpurge, #SanDiegoShrubbySpurge. I saw an abundance of these in bloom and fruiting the on the same misty day I visited the #NolinaInterrata (which you see in some of these shots). They both grow on #gabbrosoils and they’re both #rareplants but the #tetracoccus has a much larger range, from Orange and Riverside counties in California to around Ensenada in Baja California. As you could probably guess from the scientific name, these plants are #dioecious, meaning that individual plants have either male or female flowers. I think next year I’ll go look at them before they start to fruit & try to identify them by flower structure. These plants look a lot like bush rue (Cneoridium dumosum) to me & I’m not sure if I could tell them apart very easily if I looked at just the foliage. Both plants are lovely. I kind of wish that someone would cultivate the tetracoccus because it’s so pretty (and because it might be a good idea to have some more just case something happens to the wild populations). #picodenraceae #californianativeplants #sandiegonativeplants #socalnativeplants #edaphicendemism #rareplants #californiawildflowers (shrubs count as wildflowers imo) #chapparal #chaparralplantcommunity #rareplants #subbloom2021 (at San Diego County, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRPQFnpjTjH/?utm_medium=tumblr

[birdsy-purplefishes]

#DudleyaBrevifolia/#ShortLeavedLiveforever is found in five small populations within San Diego County and nowhere else on Earth. They only exist on a very specific kind of soil within a certain distance of the ocean, which is found mostly in very scenic locations that humans like to build luxury homes on. These are in one last little piece of open space right next to some ritzy houses and they’re under constant threat from clueless people, kids on bikes, and dog crap. The stones around them are #ironconcretions similar to the #moquimarbles of the Southwestern US or the #martianblueberries which may be evidence for the possibility of there having been water on Mars. Like many other #succulents, they turn red with #stresscoloration and with the plumpness of their leaves they look just like these little spherules. Millions of years of evolution to hone them into a species perfectly suited to their environment, and then some humans come along and drive them to near extinction putting houses and junk on them! The people working to save these little guys could put up signs to educate the public and keep them out, but that could open them up to the threat of poaching. It’s all incredibly frustrating. These are some of the only ones that aren’t fenced off to the point where you can’t even see them. Help keep it that way by obeying all #sensitivehabitat signs that you see when you’re out and about. ...If only because the marbles are INCREDIBLY slippery. . Scroll for more photos, my phlegmy narration in the video at the end, and of course a few photos of the #concretions that (probably?) don’t have any plants in them at all just to mess with you. 😉 PS: you can see them alright with the naked eye but bring a real camera with you if you’re trying to get good photos. An old phone and a magnifying glass just doesn’t quite do them justice. #californianativeplants #californiaendemicplants #endangeredspecies #rareplants #wildflowers #californiawildflowers #californiaendemic #sandiegocounty #edaphicendemism #hematiteconcretions #marsblueberries #lindavistaformation #torreysandstone #leavenotrace #watchyourstep (at Del Mar, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPL87eTDrgq/?utm_medium=tumblr

[birdsy-purplefishes]

#NolinaInterrata AKA #DehesaNolina or #DehesaBeargrass, a plant limited to about a six square mile area in San Diego county and a few small locations in northern Baja California. It was considered for the federal endangered species list but ultimately rejected because fortunately most of them are on protected lands (like #SycuanPeakEcologicalReserve). Still it’s ranked 1B.1 by the California Native Plant Society (rare, threatened or endangered in CA & elsewhere) and threatened by altered fire regime, invasive plants, and overall habitat destruction. This species is an #edaphicendemic and grows on mafic gabbroic and metavolcanic soils which have high amounts of iron and magnesium and are inhospitable to most plants. There are a lot of cool rare plants in San Diego adapted to these soils. Dehesa nolina is kind of hard to tell apart from chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) sometimes because they’re both grassy rosettes and chaparral yucca sometimes has similarly long, bluish-grayish foliage. Other than the flowers being very different you’ll notice that the nolina lacks those needle-sharp spines at the end of its leaves and instead they have jagged edges to them. The leaves on nolina get droopy too. They also form clusters of rosettes whereas the yucca only grows one before it flowers and dies. Check out the last three pictures to see chaparral yucca and Dehesa nolina next to each other and then one with just the nolina. In one photo the foliage is a very different shade of green and in the other one you can tell by their overall shapes. I found out fairly recently that I had been seeing these plants with some regularity for a large portion of my life and had no idea that they were different from chaparral yucca and only lived my very small area of the world. Learn about your local flora and fauna! It’s eye-opening. (And correct me if I’ve said anything inaccurate, because I’m just some nerd who likes plants a lot. 😅) (at Sycuan Peak) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkCqG4LjAsT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=