California Rare Plant Ranks (CRPRs) are a ranking system developed by CNPS to define and categorize rarity in the California flora. The CRPRs range from presumed extinct species (CRPR 1A) to limited distribution/watchlist species (CRPR 4). Once assigned, all CRPRs are included and available to search in the CNPS Rare Plant Inventory (RPI). Select from the options below to learn each rank’s criteria. The RPI Glossary also has full definitions.
California Rare Plant Rank 1A
Plants presumed extirpated in California and either rare or extinct elsewhere
Plants with a California Rare Plant Rank of 1A are presumed extirpated or extinct because they have not been seen or collected in the wild in California for many years. A plant is extinct if it no longer occurs anywhere. A plant that is extirpated from California has been eliminated from California, but may still occur elsewhere in its range.
All of the plants constituting California Rare Plant Rank 1A meet the definitions of the California Endangered Species Act of the California Fish and Game Code, and are eligible for state listing. Should these taxa be rediscovered, and impacts proposed to individuals or their habitat, they must be analyzed during preparation of environmental documents relating to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), or those considered to be functionally equivalent to CEQA, as they meet the definition of Rare or Endangered under CEQA Guidelines §15125 (c) and/or §15380.
California Rare Plant Rank 1B
Plants rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere
Plants with a California Rare Plant Rank of 1B are rare throughout their range with the majority of them endemic to California. Most of the plants that are ranked 1B have declined significantly over the last century. California Rare Plant Rank 1B plants constitute the majority of taxa in the CNPS Inventory, with more than 1,000 plants assigned to this category of rarity.
All of the plants constituting California Rare Plant Rank 1B meet the definitions of the California Endangered Species Act of the California Fish and Game Code, and are eligible for state listing. Impacts to these species or their habitat must be analyzed during preparation of environmental documents relating to CEQA, or those considered to be functionally equivalent to CEQA, as they meet the definition of Rare or Endangered under CEQA Guidelines §15125; (c) and/or §15380.
California Rare Plant Rank 2A
Plants presumed extirpated in California but common elsewhere
Plants with a California Rare Plant Rank of 2A are presumed extirpated because they have not been observed or documented in California for many years. This list only includes plants that are presumed extirpated in California, but more common elsewhere in their range.
All of the plants constituting California Rare Plant Rank 2A meet the definitions of the California Endangered Species Act of the California Fish and Game Code, and are eligible for state listing. Should these species be rediscovered, any impacts proposed to individuals or their habitat must be analyzed during preparation of environmental documents relating to CEQA, or those considered to be functionally equivalent to CEQA, as they meet the definition of Rare or Endangered under CEQA Guidelines §15125 (c) and/or §15380.
California Rare Plant Rank 2B
Plants rare, threatened, or endangered in California but more common elsewhere
Except for being common beyond the boundaries of California, plants with a California Rare Plant Rank of 2B would have been ranked 1B. From the federal perspective, plants common in other states or countries are not eligible for consideration under the provisions of the Federal Endangered Species Act. With California Rare Plant Rank 2B, we recognize the importance of protecting the geographic range of widespread species. In this way we protect the diversity of our own state’s flora and help maintain evolutionary processes and genetic diversity within species.
All of the plants constituting California Rare Plant Rank 2B meet the definitions of the California Endangered Species Act of the California Fish and Game Code, and are eligible for state listing. Impacts to these species or their habitat must be analyzed during preparation of environmental documents relating to CEQA, or those considered to be functionally equivalent to CEQA, as they meet the definition of Rare or Endangered under CEQA Guidelines §15125 (c) and/or §15380.
California Rare Plant Rank 3
Review List: Plants about which more information is needed
Plants with a California Rare Plant Rank of 3 are united by one common theme – we lack the necessary information to assign them to one of the other ranks or to reject them. Nearly all of the plants constituting California Rare Plant Rank 3 are taxonomically problematic. For each California Rare Plant Rank 3 plant we have provided the known information and indicated in the “Notes” section of the CNPS Inventory record where assistance is needed. Data regarding distribution, endangerment, ecology, and taxonomic validity are welcomed and can be submitted by emailing the Rare Plant Program at rareplants@cnps.org.
Many of the plants constituting California Rare Plant Rank 3 meet the definitions of the California Endangered Species Act of the California Fish and Game Code, and are eligible for state listing. Impacts to these species or their habitat should be analyzed during preparation of environmental documents relating to CEQA, or those considered to be functionally equivalent to CEQA, as they may meet the definition of Rare or Endangered under CEQA Guidelines §15125 (c) and/or §15380.
California Rare Plant Rank 4
Watch List: Plants of limited distribution
Plants with a California Rare Plant Rank of 4 are of limited distribution or infrequent throughout a broader area in California, and their status should be monitored regularly. Should the degree of endangerment or rarity of a California Rare Plant Rank 4 plant change, we will transfer it to a more appropriate rank.
Some of the plants constituting California Rare Plant Rank 4 meet the definitions of the California Endangered Species Act of the California Fish and Game Code, and few, if any, are eligible for state listing. Nevertheless, many of them are significant locally, and we strongly recommend that California Rare Plant Rank 4 plants be evaluated for impact significance during preparation of environmental documents relating to CEQA, or those considered to be functionally equivalent to CEQA, based on CEQA Guidelines §15125 (c) and/or §15380. To assist professional botanists in evaluating CRPR 4 species for CEQA consideration the Rare Plant Program Committee has prepared a technical memorandum on Considerations for Including CRPR 4 Plant Taxa in CEQA Biological Resource Impact Analysis.
Threat Ranks
Ranks at each level also include a threat rank (e.g., ,CRPR 4.3) and are determined as follows:
- 0.1-Seriously threatened in California (over 80% of occurrences threatened / high degree and immediacy of threat)
- 0.2-Moderately threatened in California (20-80% occurrences threatened / moderate degree and immediacy of threat)
- 0.3-Not very threatened in California (less than 20% of occurrences threatened / low degree and immediacy of threat or no current threats known)
Notes:
- The above Threat Rank guidelines only represent a starting point in the assessment of threat level. Other factors, such as habitat vulnerability and specificity, distribution, and condition of occurrences, are also considered in setting the Threat Rank.
- Many of the Threat Ranks have not been reassessed since the time they were first designated after implementation of the Rare Plant Status Review Process, and therefore may not represent the current level of threats associated with a given taxon.
- The Threat Ranks do not designate a change of environmental protections. For instance a CRPR 1B.3 plant has the same environmental protections as a CRPR 1B.1 plant, and it is mandatory that both be fully considered during preparation of environmental documents relating to CEQA.