Harmonia stebbinsii

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Harmonia stebbinsii
Harmoniastebbinsii.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Harmonia
Species:
H. stebbinsii
Binomial name
Harmonia stebbinsii
(T.W.Nelson & J.P.Nelson) B.G.Baldwin
Synonyms

Madia stebbinsii

Harmonia stebbinsii (syn. Madia stebbinsii) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Stebbins' tarweed, or Stebbins' madia. It is endemic to northern California, where it is limited to the Klamath Mountains and adjacent slopes of the North Coast Ranges. It is a member of the serpentine soils plant community in these mountains, found at elevations of 1100–1600 meters. [1] [2] [3] It is a rare annual herb producing a bristly stem up to about 25 centimeters tall studded with black resin glands. Its bristly leaves grow up to about 2 centimeters long and are mostly gathered near the base of the plant. The inflorescence is an array of flower heads lined with hairy, glandular, purple-tipped phyllaries. The head has a few yellow ray florets several millimeters long and yellow disc florets. The fruit is an achene tipped with a pappus. [4]

Contents

Distribution

This representative of the tarweed group is an endangered endemic to California, and characteristically associated with shallow, rocky, serpentine soils. [5] [6] It was formerly considered by the California Native Plant Society to be a species of special concern, based on rare plant surveys conducted by US Forest Service botanists over the past 25 years. [7] [8] However, the plant has most recently been placed on the California Rare Plant Rank 1B.2. [9] It is only found in the narrow geographical range of Lake, Shasta, Tehama, and Trinity counties of California's Klamath Mountain Ecoregion. [10] Occurrences outside of this range have not been documented.

Ecology

Ultramafic, "serpentine" soils in California support a high rate of endemism in plant communities. [11] Plate tectonics and erosion over time work to produce these unique soil environments that are characterized by high levels of magnesium and iron silicate materials. In addition, they feature low levels of important plant nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium. In addition, these soils contain trace minerals that are toxic to most plants, including cobalt, chromium, and nickel. California contains approximately 2300 square miles of ultramafic rocks. Thus, plants found in these environments have the adaptive ability to grow, despite these conditions. Furthermore, such an extreme environment facilitates the high rate of endemism found, as few species are able to dominate a serpentine plant community. Of all of the endemic California plants, those of the family Asteraceae have the highest affinity for serpentine soils, based on the number of species represented in these serpentine plant communities. [12] Most serpentine endemism is concentrated in the North Coastal and Klamath Mountain Ranges of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. [13] [14]

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Calystegia stebbinsii is a rare species of morning glory known by the common name Stebbins' false bindweed. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, where it is known from only two spots in El Dorado and Nevada Counties. It grows in unique habitat in chaparral on gabbro soils. It is a federally listed endangered species.

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Monardella stebbinsii is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names Feather River monardella and Stebbins' monardella. It is endemic to Plumas County, California, where it is known from only about ten occurrences along the North Fork of the Feather River in the High Sierra. It is a member of the serpentine soils flora in rocky mountain habitat.

Silene salmonacea is a rare, newly described species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names Klamath Mountain catchfly and salmon-flowered catchfly. It is known only from Trinity County, California, where it grows in the forests of the southern Klamath Mountains. It is a member of the serpentine soils flora. It is a small perennial herb growing just a few centimeters tall. The spoon-shaped leaves are up to 3.5 centimeters long. The herbage is gray-green and lightly woolly in texture. Each flower has a tubular calyx of fused sepals lined with ten veins. There are five salmon pink petals, each with four lobes at the tip.

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References

  1. ↑ Bruce G. Baldwin 2014. Harmonia stebbinsii, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.)
  2. ↑ California Native Plant Link Exchange. Plant Information. Harmonia stebinsii.
  3. ↑ Williams, J. N., Seo, C., Thorne, J., Nelson, J. K., Erwin, S., O’Brien, J. M., & Schwartz, M. W. (2009). Using species distribution models to predict new occurrences for rare plants. Diversity and Distributions, 15(4), 565-576.
  4. ↑ Bruce G. Baldwin 2014. Harmonia stebbinsii, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.)
  5. ↑ Safford, D. (2011). Serpentine Endemism in the California Flora. Fremontia. 38(4): 32-40.
  6. ↑ Williams, J. N., Seo, C., Thorne, J., Nelson, J. K., Erwin, S., O’Brien, J. M., & Schwartz, M. W. (2009). Using species distribution models to predict new occurrences for rare plants. Diversity and Distributions, 15(4), 565-576.
  7. ↑ Mason, H. (2007). Plant Diversity in the Klamath Mountains. Fremontia. 35(3): 1-13.
  8. ↑ Williams, J. N., Seo, C., Thorne, J., Nelson, J. K., Erwin, S., O’Brien, J. M., & Schwartz, M. W. (2009). Using species distribution models to predict new occurrences for rare plants. Diversity and Distributions, 15(4), 565-576.
  9. ↑ Safford, D. (2011). Serpentine Endemism in the California Flora. Fremontia. 38(4): 32-40.
  10. ↑ Williams, J. N., Seo, C., Thorne, J., Nelson, J. K., Erwin, S., O’Brien, J. M., & Schwartz, M. W. (2009). Using species distribution models to predict new occurrences for rare plants. Diversity and Distributions, 15(4), 565-576.
  11. ↑ Mason, H. (2007). Plant Diversity in the Klamath Mountains. Fremontia. 35(3): 1-13.
  12. ↑ Safford, D. (2011). Serpentine Endemism in the California Flora. Fremontia. 38(4): 32-40.
  13. ↑ Mason, H. (2007). Plant Diversity in the Klamath Mountains. Fremontia. 35(3): 1-13.
  14. ↑ Safford, D. (2011). Serpentine Endemism in the California Flora. Fremontia. 38(4): 32-40.
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