''Navarretia fossalis'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the
phlox family known by the common name spreading navarretia.
Distribution
The plant is native to southern
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 ...
and
Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
, where it is known only from
vernally wet areas, such as
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, ditches, and other areas that are wet or flooded during the rainy season and dry the rest of the year. Many of these habitat areas have
alkali soil
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (greater than 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico ...
s arranged in uneven mounds and depressions that collect water and drain slowly before drying up.
[USFWS]
Proposed Revised Critical Habitat for ''Navarretia fossalis'' (Spreading Navarretia).
June 10, 2009.
The plant became a federally listed threatened species in the United States in 1998, when there were approximately 30 occurrences of the species remaining in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
and about nine left across the border in Baja California.
[ By 2009, an additional 17 occurrences had been documented.][ The plant often occurs with '' Psilocarphus brevissimus''.][Center for Plant Conservation]
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Description
''Navarretia fossalis'' is a hairy annual herb producing a spreading stem up to about 15 centimeters high. The hairless leaves are up to 5 centimeters long and are divided into narrow linear lobes that turn spiny sharp when dry.
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 ...
is a flat-topped head 1 or 2 centimeters wide filled with lobed bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...
s and clusters of flowers. The white or purple-tinged flowers are under a centimeter long and have corollas divided into minute narrow lobes under a millimeter long.
The fruit capsule yields a clump of tiny seeds that remain stuck together until they become wet, turning into a sticky, separating mass.
See also
*California chaparral and woodlands
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Navarretia fossalis''''Navarretia fossalis'' — U.C. Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6982135
fossalis
Flora of California
Flora of Baja California
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges
Threatened flora of California