Brodiaea, also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants.
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species unable to withstand competition or predation by fish. Certain tropical fish lineages have however adapted to this habitat specifically.
Lasthenia conjugens, commonly known as Contra Costa goldfields, is an endangered species of wildflower endemic to a limited range within the San Francisco Bay Area of the state of California, USA. Specifically this rare species occurs in Napa, Santa Barbara, Solano, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Monterey and Alameda Counties. This annual herb typically flowers from March through June, and its colonies grow in vernal pool habitats at elevations not exceeding 100 meters above sea level. The Jepson Manual notes that the present distribution is limited to the deltaic Sacramento Valley, principally Napa and Solano Counties, but the historic range of L. conjugens is known to be significantly wider. In any case, historically the range has included parts of the North Coast, Sacramento Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area as well as the South Coast. Alternatively and less frequently this taxon has been referred to as Baeria fremontii var. conjugens.
Branchinecta sandiegonensis is a rare species of crustacean in the family Branchinectidae and the order Anostraca, the fairy shrimp. Commonly known as the San Diego fairy shrimp, it is named after the vernal pools found in San Diego County, California, where this species was originally discovered. It is also a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Lepidurus packardi, the vernal pool tadpole shrimp, is a small, rare species of tadpole shrimp (Notostraca) found in temporary ponds of the western United States.
Hooveria purpurea is a species of flowering plant related to the agaves known by the common name purple amole. This species of soap plant is endemic to California, where it grows in the Santa Lucia Range, in the Central Coast region. There are two varieties of this plant, and both are believed to be quite rare. It is a federally listed threatened species.
Dudleya brevifolia, is a rare succulent plant known by the common name short-leaved liveforever, short-leaved dudleya or rarely the Del Mar Hasseanthus. It is an edaphic endemic that only grows on Lindavista formation marine terraces, on surfaces with ironstone nodules. The leaves are deciduous, and disappear after the inflorescence develops. The small white flowers are star-shaped with a yellow center. After flowering, any above ground trace of the plant will disappear, and it survives under the earth with a starch-rich subterranean caudex. Dudleya brevifolia is only found on coastal mesas along a small strip of coast in San Diego County, California.
The Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve of 8.22 acres (33,300 m2) in the community of Loch Lomond in Lake County, California. It is one of 119 ecological reserves managed by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). The ecological reserve system was authorized by the state legislature in 1968 for the purpose of conservation and protection of rare plants, animals and habitats.
Ambrosia pumila is a rare species of herbaceous perennial plant known by the common names San Diego ragweed and San Diego ambrosia. It is native to far southern California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It grows in floodplains and open grasslands in proximity to wetland areas.
Brodiaea orcuttii is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family, of the subfamily Brodiaeoideae. It is a cluster-lily known commonly as Orcutt's brodiaea. This corm-sprouting species is nearly endemic to San Diego County, with the periphery of its range reaching the southern portion of Riverside County along with some populations sparsely scattered in northwestern Baja California. Brodiaea orcuttii is usually associated with the marginal areas of vernal pools, seeps, meadows, and stream embankments, microhabitats which can generally be found from coastal mesas to interior mountains. The red-purple to blue flowers bloom from April to July. It can be distinguished from all other species of Brodiaea by its lack of staminodes.
Brodiaea pallida is a rare species of flowering plant in the cluster-lily genus known by the common name Chinese Camp brodiaea.
Bloomeria clevelandii is a rare species of flowering plant that is known by the common name San Diego goldenstar. It is native to a strip of scrub and coastal grassland in San Diego County, California, and adjacent Baja California. Genetic analysis of several morphologically similar genera shows that this species, which was named Muilla clevelandii for several decades, is not very closely related to the other members of Muilla and is moved back to Bloomeria.
Orcuttia californica is a rare species of grass known by the common name California Orcutt grass.
Brodiaea santarosae is a rare Brodiaea species known by the common name Santa Rosa brodiaea and Santa Rosa Basalt brodiaea. It is endemic to southern California, mostly in the region around the junction of Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties and limited to ancient basaltic soils. There are only five known populations. It was once thought to be an intergrade of Brodiaea filifolia and B. orcuttii, but measurements found this to be false. It was described as a new species in 2007.
Pogogyne nudiuscula is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Otay mesa mint. It is native to southern San Diego County, California, where it is known only from Otay Mesa near the border with Baja California. It was identified on land south of the Mexican border, but these occurrences have probably been extirpated. It is now known from seven vernal pool complexes just north of the border, and it is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Triteleia hyacinthina is a species of flowering plant known by the common names white brodiaea, white tripletlily, hyacinth brodiaea, and fool's onion. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Idaho to central California. Its habitat includes grassland and vernally moist areas such as meadows and vernal pools. It is a perennial herb growing from a corm. It produces two or three basal leaves up to 40 centimeters (16 in) long by 2 centimeters (0.79 in) wide. The inflorescence arises on an erect stem up to 60 centimeters (24 in) tall and bears an umbel-like cluster of many flowers. Each flower is a funnel-shaped bloom borne on a pedicel up to 5 centimeters (2.0 in) long. The flower is white, often tinged purple along the tubular throat, with six green-veined tepals. There are six stamens with white, yellow, or occasionally blue anthers.
Triteleia peduncularis is a monocot flowering plant in the genus Triteleia. Its common names include long-ray brodiaea and longray triteleia. It is endemic to California, where it occurs in the coastal and inland mountain ranges of the northern and central sections of the state. It grows in vernally moist habitat such as meadows, grassland, and vernal pools, often in areas with serpentine soils. It is a perennial wildflower growing from a corm. There are two or three basal leaves measuring up to 40 cm (16 in) long and 1.5 cm (0.6 in) wide. The inflorescence arises on a smooth, erect stem up to 80 cm (31 in) tall. It is an umbel-like cluster of several flowers which are borne on very long, straight pedicels measuring up to 18 cm (7.1 in) long. Each funnel-shaped flower is white, often tinged purple, with six tepals up to 1.6 cm (0.6 in) in length. There are six stamens with white anthers, and the ovary at the center is yellow when the flower is young.
Harperocallis flava, known by the common name Harper's beauty, is a species endemic to parts of Florida in the United States, where it is known mainly from the Apalachicola National Forest in the Panhandle. It is seriously endangered and has been on the United States' endangered species list since 1979.
Lomatium cookii is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names Cook's lomatium and agate desertparsley. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it grows in only two valleys. It is a federally listed endangered species.
Acanthomintha ilicifolia, known by the common name San Diego thornmint, is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is native to Baja California and San Diego County, California, where it is a resident of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities and vernal pools.
