''Eriodictyon capitatum'', the Lompoc yerba santa, is a rare evergreen

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

in the borage family. It is endemic to western Santa Barbara County, in California.

Distribution

The plant is endemic to western

Santa Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

, where it is known from only five remaining populations, two of which are located on Vandenberg Air Force Base. It was made a federally listed

endangered species 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 and inv ...

in 2000. Besides the Vandenberg populations, there are two populations located just north of Lompoc and a single population just south on the slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Ecology

This plant grows in two types of habitat. The first is California coastal sage and chaparral, including maritime

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

and

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...

on sandstone soils. Here it grows amongst

buckbrush Buckbrush is the common name for several species of North American shrubs that deer feed on, including but probably not limited to: *''Cephalanthus occidentalis'' *'' Phyllanthopsis phyllanthoides'', maidenbrush (south-central U.S.) * Some western N ...

(''Ceanothus cuneatus''), black sage (''Salvia mellifera'') and California sagebrush (''Artemisia californica''). The second habitat type of the plant is coastal coniferous forest, where it is often associated with bishop pine (''Pinus muricata'').

Description

''Eriodictyon capitatum'' is rare plant produces hairless, resinous, sticky stems up to about 3 meters (9 feet) tall. The bark is shreddy. The leathery herbage is aromatic, lining the stems with very narrow linear leaves up to 9 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a cluster of hairy bell-shaped lavender flowers. The plant undergoes both sexual and vegetative reproduction. During the latter it produces more aboveground stems from its rootstock, sometimes creating a "population" of many plants which are actually one genetic individual.''Eriodictyon capitatum''.
The Nature Conservancy. Some occurrences are made up of fewer than 20 plants.''Eriodictyon capitatum'' Five-year Review.
February 2011

Conservation

Threats to the existence of this species include non-native plants and fire management regimes in the area. Also, the plant is not prolific in its reproduction, producing little seed. Because some colonies are made up of clones, this self-incompatible plant has less chance of being pollinated by genetically separate individuals.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Eriodictyon capitatum'' ''Eriodictyon capitatum'' - U.C. Photo Gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389330 capitatum Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of Santa Barbara County, California Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Santa Ynez Mountains Vandenberg Space Force Base