''Limnanthes floccosa'', or woolly meadowfoam, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

meadowfoam ''Limnanthes'', the type genus of the family Limnanthaceae, consists of annual herbaceous plants commonly known as the meadowfoams. The seven species are all native to coastal and adjoining regions (inland valleys, foothills and mountains) of wes ...

found in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

and

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Most of the subspecies have highly restricted distributions and are listed as

critical Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine * Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing i ...

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. Perhaps the most familiar subspecies of woolly meadowfoam is ''californica'', not because it is the one most often seen (it is very inconspicuous), but because this taxon has been the focus of a significant conflict. The subspecies is found only among a dozen or so populations in

Butte County, California Butte County () is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County comprises the Chico, California, metropolitan stat ...

, and is legally protected as endangered. Conflict has arisen between those who would protect the few remaining populations and those who would rather use its critical habitat for economic activities. Certain subspecies of ''L. floccosa'' have been used to improve a meadowfoam cultivar derived from ''Limnanthes alba''. The crop is grown for its seed oil, which contains long chain fatty acids (greater than 20 carbons), has high oxidative stability, does not have any odor and is highly emollient. The oil is currently used in cosmetics manufacturing. ''Limnanthes'' is cultivated in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and elsewhere.

Taxonomy

Woolly meadowfoam ''Limnanthes floccosa'' is a member of the genus section ''inflexae'' (wherein the petals curve over the fruit when it is mature). Most populations of this species are at least partially autogamous (self-pollinating). The species is easily distinguished from other members of ''inflexae'' by the fact that its petals are not much longer and often shorter than the sepals. The flowers mostly remain closed even at maturity, in contrast to Table Mountain meadowfoam ('' Limnanthes douglasii'' ssp. ''nivea''), for example. The most widespread subspecies (''floccosa'') occurs in both California and Oregon. Two subspecies (''pumila'' and ''grandiflora'') are endemic to southern Oregon. The ''

Jepson Manual ''The Jepson Manual'' is a flora of the vascular plants that are either native to or naturalized in California. Botanists often refer to the book simply as ''Jepson''. It is produced by the University and Jepson Herbaria, of the University of Cal ...

'' (a flora of California) recognizes only one California endemic subspecies (''californica'') but the Flora of North America recognizes a second (''bellingeriana''). (The Jepson Manual notes a putative subspecies (''bellingeriana'') has been "reported from Cascade Range Foothills but requires further study".)

Woolly meadowfoam

''L. f.'' subsp. ''floccosa'' is found throughout northern California and southern Oregon. Its range overlaps the highly restricted ranges of all the other subspecies. Thus at most locations where a rare subspecies occurs it is also possible to find this subspecies, making accurate identification critical. Although widespread, the taxon is not common anywhere. It differs from the two endemic Oregon subspecies ''pumila'' and ''grandiflora'' and the northern California ''bellingeriana'' in that it has densely hairy sepals and herbage. (Subspecies ''pumila'', ''grandiflora'' and ''bellingeriana'' all have hairless or only sparsely hairy herbage and have sepals that are either hairless or hairy on only one side.) Woolly meadowfoam can be distinguished from the endangered Butte County meadowfoam by the shape of the flower and the fact that woolly meadowfoam lacks hairs along the base of the petal margins. Technical features of the nutlet are also useful.

Bellinger's meadowfoam

''L. f. ''subsp.''bellingeriana'' (M. Peck) C. T. Mason was named for Dr. Grover C. and Mrs. Hattie Bellinger who first collected a sample of the

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

in 1936. It can be found in the foothills of northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Bellinger's meadowfoam can be distinguished from other woolly meadowfoam subspecies by the bell or urn shaped flowers, hairless (or only sparsely hairy) sepals, and petals without hairs on the margins of the base. The leaves and stems are hairless.

Big-flowered woolly meadowfoam

''Limnanthes floccosa'' subsp. ''grandiflora'' Arroyo is only known from

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the saf ...

s in the

Agate Desert The Agate Desert is a prairie located near White City, Oregon, of which is protected as the Agate Desert Preserve. The area is not in fact a desert as its name suggests; it is so named because of the abundance of agate, petrified wood, jasper, and ...

, an area near White City,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. These plants, unlike subspecies ''floccosa'', have leaves and stems that are only sparsely hairy, not woolly. This meadowfoam can further be distinguished from other woolly meadowfoam subspecies by the cup shaped flowers with sepals that have very little hair on their outer (bottom) surface but are densely hairy on the inside (top) surface. The petals have hairs along the margins of the base.

Dwarf woolly meadowfoam

Unlike other subspecies of ''Limnanthes floccosa'', the subspecies ''pumila'' (Howell) Arroyo inhabits the edges of vernal pools and wetter areas on

Upper and Lower Table Rock Upper Table Rock and Lower Table Rock are two prominent volcanic plateaus located just north of the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, U.S. Created by an andesite, andesitic lava, lava flow approximately seven million ...

, lava formations in the

Rogue Valley The Rogue Valley is a valley region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon n ...

, Jackson County,

. The tall plants are distinguished by their cup shaped flowers with sepals that are hairless on the both surfaces and petals that have hairs along the margins at the base. Like Bellinger's meadowfoam, the leaves and stems are hairless.

Butte County or Shippee meadowfoam

''Limnanthes floccosa'' subsp. ''californica'' Arroyo is an

plant endemic to Butte County,

. Development of land in the

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 United Sta ...

area, including highway improvements and construction of a school and a church, has been impacted by the federal and state protected status of the plant. Local celebrity Anthony Watts became involved in the conflict by suggesting that the endangered meadowfoam could be "farmed out of danger". It is possible that this plant could provide genetic resources for the ongoing development of meadowfoam as a crop. The plant's critical habitat is steadily declining due to development. Butte County meadowfoam can be distinguished from other woolly meadowfoam subspecies by the cup shaped flowers with sepals that are densely hairy and petals with hairs along the margin at the base. The leaves and stems are densely hairy.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6549727 Limnanthaceae Flora of Oregon Plants described in 1897 Flora of Northern America Flora without expected TNC conservation status