''Erysimum menziesii'' is a species of ''

Erysimum ''Erysimum'', or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. ''Erysimum'' is characterised by star-shaped and/or two-sided) tr ...

'' known by the common name Menzies' wallflower. This rare plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to California. It is found only in the declining beach sand dune habitat in three areas on the California coastline, in

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * Hu ...

, Mendocino, and Monterey Counties. It is listed as an

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, inv ...

on the California state and federal levels. There are three to four subspecies depending on the authority, and each is rare.

Description

''Erysimum menziesii'' is a mustardlike biennial or perennial herb which is short in size, reaching maximum heights of usually not more than 15 centimeters. The leaves are long and straight along the stem, and often thicker, hairier, and lobed in shape at the base. The top of the stem is occupied by a thick bunch of flowers with bright yellow, rounded petals. The flowers fall away to leave behind the fruits, which are very long

silique A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit ...

s sticking straight out. The plant can vary in appearance, particularly across subspecies. At least one subspecies is

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or butterflies; bird ...

by the similarly distressed

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

'' Emphoropsis miserabilis''.USFWS
''E. menziesii'' Five-year Review.
June 2008. The plant has high

fecundity Fecundity is defined in two ways; in human demography, it is the potential for reproduction of a recorded population as opposed to a sole organism, while in population biology, it is considered similar to fertility, the capability to produc ...

, but very low

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

survivorship Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

, with over 98% of seedlings perishing within the first year. At least one subspecies is commonly infected with the white rust fungus ''

Albugo canadensis ''Albugo'' is a genus of plant-parasitic oomycetes. Those are not true fungi ( Eumycota), although many discussions of this organism still treat it as a fungus. The taxonomy of this genus is incomplete, but several species are plant pathogens. ...

''.

Subspecies

Subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

include: *''E. m.'' ssp. ''eurekense'' (Humboldt Bay wallflower) — known from a few occurrences in the vicinity of

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay (Wiyot language, Wiyot: ''Wigi'') is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast (California), North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, California, Humboldt County, ...

. It grows with other beach species such as beach sagewort (''Artemisia pycnocephala''), coast buckwheat (''Eriogonum latifolium''), (

sand verbena ''Abronia'', the sand-verbenas or wild lantanas, is a genus of about 20 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the family Nyctaginaceae. Despite the common names, they are not related to ''Verbena'' (vervains) or lantanas in the fa ...

(''Abronia latifolia''), and ( beach pea (''Lathyrus littoralis''). It occurs within the

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is located on Humboldt Bay, on the California North Coast near the cities of Eureka and Arcata. The refuge exists primarily to protect and enhance wetland habitats for migratory water birds using the bay ...

. Some of its habitat is on beaches owned by the city of

Eureka, California Eureka ( ; Wiyot: ; Hupa: ; ) is a city and the county seat of Humboldt County, located on the North Coast of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt Bay, north of San Francisco and south of the Oreg ...

, and by private entities. *''E. m.'' ssp. ''menziesii'' — a plant with a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

on either side of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

, it is known from the Mendocino Coast and Monterey Peninsula. It grows in bare beach sand which is often wet from the tides and seaspray, and can be battered by storms. Other plants in the area include

evening primrose ''Oenothera'' is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. They are not closely related to ...

(''Camissonia cheiranthifolia''), beach bur (''Ambrosia chamissonis''),

sea rocket ''Cakile'' is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. Species in this genus are commonly known as searockets, though this name on its own is applied particularly to whatever member of the species is native or most common in the ...

(''Cakile maritima''), and beach knotweed (''Polygonum paronychia''). The northern population is mostly within

MacKerricher State Park MacKerricher State Park is a state park in California in the United States. It is located north of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. It covers of coastline and contains several types of coastal habitat, including beaches, dunes, headlands, coves ...

and the southern occurs on

Asilomar State Beach Asilomar State Beach, officially Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds State Park, is a state park unit of California, United States. It provides public access to rocky coast and dune habitat on the Monterey Peninsula. The property includ ...

and a few nearby dunes. *''E. m.'' ssp. ''yadonii'' (Yadon's wallflower) — known from a few occurrences near

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

in Monterey County. Some of have been destroyed by

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

operations and other factors. Some plants occur at Marina State Beach, including some individuals which have been propagated and planted in appropriate habitat. *''E. m.'' ssp. ''concinnum'' (curly wallflower) — known from

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...

into

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 ...

.Jepson: ''E. m.'' ssp. ''concinnum''
/ref> This subspecies was revised from ''Erysimum concinnum'' to a subspecies of ''E. menziesii'' after the 1992 listing, so it was not included under the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...

Conservation

Because ''Erysimum menziesii'' ssp. ''concinnum'' has been included within this species since it received its federal listing as ''Erysimum concinnum'', the species is now technically more abundant than it was then, but there is no current reliable estimate of the species' abundance now. In 1997, there were about 22 occurrences containing 33,000 individuals, not counting ssp. ''concinnum''.''E. menziesii''.

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

. A number of forces threaten the species' existence. Minor threats include trampling by hikers and horseback riders,

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle (ORV), also known as an off-highway vehicle (OHV), overland vehicle or adventure vehicle, is a type of transportation specifically engineered to navigate unpaved roads and surfaces. These include trails, forest roads, and ...

s, and

sand mining Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in conc ...

operations. Many occurrences of the plant are protected from these threats. A more major threat is the invasion of non-native plant species such as

Pampas grass Pampas grass or pampas-grass or Pap's grass is a common name which may refer to any of several similar-looking, tall-growing species of grass: * Species of ''Cortaderia'' including: :* ''Cortaderia selloana'' and its selected cultivars :* '' Cort ...

(''Cortaderia jubata'').

Conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

projects underway for the species include removal of this vegetation from the habitat.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileCalifornia DFG ProfilePhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5396351 menziesii Flora of California Flora of Oregon Natural history of Humboldt County, California Natural history of Mendocino County, California Natural history of Monterey County, California