''Monolopia congdonii'' (formerly ''Lembertia congdonii'') is a rare species of flowering plant in the family
Asteraceae
Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...
known by the common name San Joaquin woollythread.
It 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
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 ...
, where it is known only from the southern
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
and one area in nearby
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa M ...
. It is 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, inv ...
.
Description
This is a small annual herb with a trailing or somewhat upright stem coated thinly in woolly fibers. The leaves are up to about 4 centimeters long and have wavy edges. The
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
s at the end of stem branches bear small hemispheric
flower heads
A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...
. Each head is wrapped in
phyllaries with black glandular hairs and has a center of glandular yellow disc florets. There are also yellow ray florets but they are so small they are nearly invisible. Each is about half a millimeter long and has a minutely lobed tip.
See also
*
Joseph Whipple Congdon
Joseph Whipple Congdon (April 13, 1834 – April 5, 1910) was a lawyer by trade who contributed significantly to early botanical exploration in California, particularly in the Yosemite region, where he resided in Mariposa from 1882 until 1905. C ...
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment - Monolopia congdoniiMonolopia congdonii - Photo gallery
Madieae
Endemic flora of California
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
Plants described in 1999
{{Madieae-stub