Chorizanthe howellii

Chorizanthe howellii

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Order:Caryophyllales
Family:Polygonaceae
Genus:Chorizanthe
Species: C. howellii
Binomial name
Chorizanthe howellii
Goodman

Chorizanthe howellii is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common names Mendocino spineflower and Howell's spineflower.[1] It is endemic to coastal Mendocino County, California, where it is known only from the sand dunes and coastal scrub near Fort Bragg. It is estimated that 95% of the remaining individuals of this plant are part of a single population growing at MacKerricher State Park.[2] It is a federally listed endangered species.

This is a decumbent or spreading species, growing hairy stems along the ground up to about 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers, each surrounded by a starlike array of six spreading white bracts tipped with straight brown awns. The flower itself is a few millimeters wide and white to pale pink in color.[3][4][5]

Threats to this species have historically included off-road vehicle use, trampling by people on foot and horseback, non-native plant species such as the iceplant Carpobrotus edulis and beachgrass Ammophila arenaria.[2] These impacts have been reduced in the state park with a ban on off-road vehicles, limiting foot and horse traffic, and removal of non-native plant species.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Calflora taxon report, Chorizanthe howellii Goodman Howell's spineflower, Mendocino spineflower
  2. 1 2 3 US Fish & Wildlife Service, Arcata. Howell's Spineflower: Five-year Review. September, 2007.
  3. ↑ Goodman, George Jones. 1934. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 21(1): 44–45 descriptions in English and Latin, commentary in English
  4. ↑ Goodman, George Jones. 1934. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 21(1): plate 3, figure 1 photo of herbarium specimen of Chorizanthe howellii
  5. ↑ Flora of North America, Chorizanthe howellii


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