Rare Plants Identified for 2018 Seed Collection Efforts

As announced by the CNPS Rare Plant Program, these species will be the focus of CNPS seed rescue efforts in 2018:

Antioch Dunes buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum var. psychicola)

• Ben Lomond buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum var. decurrens)
• Crested potentilla (Potentilla cristae)
• Henderson’s horkelia (Horkelia hendersonii)
• Loma Prieta hoita (Hoita strobilina)
• Mt. Eddy sky pilot (Polemonium eddyense)
• Paiute lomatium (Lomatium ravenii var. paiutense)
• Parish’s gooseberry (Ribes divaricatum var. parishii)
• Raven’s lomatium (Lomatium ravenii var. ravenii)

CNPS is a partner in the California Plant Rescue project, a statewide coalition of nonprofit botanic organizations. The goal: collect 75 percent of California’s rare and threatened species by 2020.

“It amazes me how the group has been able to achieve so much,” says the Plant Rescue Coordinator Christa Horn. “CaPR members have been able to collect over 300 California rare plant seed collections since 2015, including 155 taxa not previously represented in conservation collections.”

Each of the project partners adopts certain species each year with the goal of collecting at least 2,500 seeds for each. The Lomatium species will be a particular focus for CNPS Rare Plant Treasure Hunts over the next two years, explains Catherine Curley, CNPS RPTH coordinator and assistant botanist. For more on the California Rare Plant Rescue project.