''Puccinellia howellii'' is a rare species of

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

known by the common name Howell's alkaligrass. 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 ...

Shasta County, California Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a County (United States), county located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from t ...

, where it is known from a single population in

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Whiskeytown was an American alternative country band formed in 1994 from Raleigh, North Carolina. Fronted by Ryan Adams, the group included members Caitlin Cary, Phil Wandscher, Eric "Skillet" Gilmore, and Mike Daly. They disbanded in 2000 wit ...

near Whiskeytown. Its entire population is contained in a complex of three saline

mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage un ...

s directly next to Highway 299.Cooper, D. J. and E. C. Wolf. (2007).
A restoration and monitoring plan for ''Puccinellia howellii'', Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California.
Colorado State University. The grass was first described to science in 1990 and no other populations were discovered despite extensive searches of the area.Center for Plant Conservation
The hillsides surrounding the salt springs where the rare grass grows burned in the 2018 Carr Fire. However the bare, wet gravel slopes of the springs were largely unburned and the ''Puccinellia'' population persists.

Description

''Puccinellia howellii'' is perennial

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

, and grows in clumpy monotypic stands of stems up to 60 centimeters tall. 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 an array of branches a few centimeters long, the lower ones reflexed as the fruit matures. The grass reproduces only by seed, and seed is not produced until the individual is two years old or more. The plants are mostly dormant during warm months when the

soil salinity Soil salinity is the salt (chemistry), salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization (also called salination in American and British English spelling differences, American English). Salts occur nat ...

is highest, and the seed germinates during wet seasons when water flow dilutes the salt. The single population of the grass is made up of several thousand individuals, a dominant species of the vegetation in this tiny network of mineral springs.Grass Manual Treatment
It grows alongside other

halophyte A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. ...

s such as saltgrass (''Distichlis spicata'') and seaside arrowgrass (''Triglochin maritima'').

Endangered status

Threats to this already extremely rare grass include

polluted Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

from the highway which is just steps away from its habitat,California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
alterations in the specific moisture, pH, and salinity requirements of the plant season by season, and changes in the

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

amounts entering the habitat by water flow. In this habitat,

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

is considered a pollutant, because it reduces the salinity too much for the grass to survive; management plans highlight the importance of diverting freshwater away from the springs. Other threats include

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

black-tailed deer Black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupy coastal regions of western North America. There are two subspecies, the Columbian black-tailed deer (''Odocoileus hemionus columbianus'') which ranges from the Pacific Northwest of the United States and ...

(''Odocoileus hemionus columbianus''),

garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

from the road, and random events that could affect the entire population.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4085615 howellii Endemic flora of California Native grasses of California Halophytes Critically endangered flora of California Natural history of Shasta County, California Plants described in 1990