Propagation and planting of Napa false indigo

From: Richard Fitzgerald, rfitzgerald@dfg.ca.gov
Date: 09/17/02
Time: 05:01 PM


Does anyone have knowledge of or experience with propagation of Napa false indigo (Amorpha californica var. napensis) from collected seeds or cuttings? If so, please contact me at 707 944-5568 or rfitzgerald@dfg.ca.gov. Can anyone comment on the use of transplantation as mitigation under CEQA for destruction of individual plants when there is a high expectation that propagation and establishement will be successful?

From: Lori Hubbart lorih@mcn.org
Date: 10/30/02
Time: 05:34 PM


Re: Amorpha californica var. napensis - This is a rare plant, CNPS 1B. Your request for "knowledge of or experience with propagation of Napa false indigo" sounds like you are looking for anecdotal informtiton. What you should be asking is whether anyone has actual data on experiments growing this plant in VERY SIMILAR conditions as those found on your project. As for transplantation, the question is whether anyone has done controlled studies that involve monitoring for at least 5 years. Without hard data, you cannot claim to have a "high expectation" of success. CNPS has a policy that opposes transplantation as mitigation for destruction of rare plants, and it gives sound reasons. It is often not successful, even short-term, and long-term success is even less likely. Yes, we could all use more data on such cases. The problem is that we need to be VERY careful in experimenting with rare plants. Anyway, the policy is on the CNPS website under Policy Archives. Hope you will check it out. Sincerely, Lori Hubbart, DKY Chapter