Gerry’s curly-leaved monardella is at risk of extinction just years after its rediscovery.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Liv O’Keeffe
lokeeffe@cnps.org
916-447-2677
February 19, 2025, Sacramento—Today, the California Native Plant Society submitted a petition to list the Gerry’s curly-leaved monardella (Monardella sinuata ssp. gerryi) as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). A successful listing would help protect this rare plant from extinction.
Gerry’s curly-leaved monardella is an annual wildflower in the mint family (Lamiaceae) found at only two locations in the world, both in Ventura County near the city of Camarillo. Prior to 2013, Gerry’s curly-leaved monardella was known only from two historical herbarium specimens and was thought to be a disjunct (geographically separate) population of a more common monardella. But after botanists spotted the living plants in 2013, experts in the genus Monardella determined the plants at the site were not the common mint as previously thought and officially described the plants as new to western science in 2015. Since then, only one new population has been discovered in the Camarillo Hills in 2024.
“This beautiful little plant is one of the rarest and most in need of protection in California,” said CNPS Conservation Program Director Nick Jensen, who authored the listing petition. “The fact that it was rediscovered in 2013, only to be pushed to the verge of extinction is troubling. Gerry’s curly-leaved monardella clearly deserves the increased protections afforded by the California Endangered Species Act.”
Today, the rare monardella only occurs on private property and faces threats from development and agricultural activities. Plants at the site discovered in 2013 are affected by road construction and agricultural activities, and population numbers have been declining since its discovery. The site discovered in 2024 is in an area proposed for development, placing that population and the entire species at risk. Gerry’s curly-leaved monardella is also threatened by invasive plants, climate change, and harmful genetic consequences because of its small population size. Listing under the California Endangered Species Act would provide the strongest protection in California and help promote actions to recover populations to a sustainable level.
Gerry’s curly-leaved monardella is what’s known as a “substrate specialist”, meaning it only grows on a unique soil type. It lives on a geologic formation called the Las Posas Sand, which was formed thousands of years ago as sediment deposited at ancient river mouths. This special substrate is limited to western Ventura County, and much of it has already been developed.
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California Native Plant Society is a statewide nonprofit organization that protects California’s native plants and their natural habitats through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy. CNPS has more than 13,000 members and 36 chapters supporting its mission throughout California and Baja California, Mexico. Learn more at cnps.org.
