The grass ''Tuctoria mucronata'', which is known by several common names including prickly spiralgrass, Solano grass, and Crampton's tuctoria, is a federally listed

endangered 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 ...

plant species

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 two counties in northern

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 ...

Description

It is a small, annually growing plant with stems growing decumbent against the ground to a maximum length of , and turning upward at the tips. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are long and secrete a sticky, aromatic juice. In the spring, the grass bears a small

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 ...

long, with numerous crowded

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the inflorescences of grasses, sedges and some other monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the sp ...

Ecology

Solano grass is a

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 ...

plant. It is only found in these seasonally wet areas, a type of habitat that is endangered. This species is thought to have once grown in isolated parts of the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in areas that flooded during the wet season, but any former habitat there has been long since reclaimed for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Only a few individuals of the plant now exist, mostly in Yolo County. It was found during the 1990s at Jepson Prairie Preserve, an area dedicated to conserving vernal pool habitat, but it may no longer exist there. Loss of critical habitat is the main cause of the near extinction of Solano grass. This loss is caused by land reclamation for development, recreation, and agricultural use, including for grazing animals, fertilizer runoff, and disturbance of the natural

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

of the Central Valley. Invasive plants have also played a role in crowding out more delicate native grasses, such as Solano grass, Greene's tuctoria (''Tuctoria greenei''), Colusa grass (''Neostapfia colusana''), and several species of genus '' Orcuttia''.

References

External links

Jepson Manual (TJM93) treatment of ''Tuctoria mucronata''The Nature ConservancyUC Photos gallery − ''Tuctoria mucronata''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7851182 Chloridoideae Native grasses of California Endemic flora of California Bunchgrasses of North America Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Natural history of Solano County, California Critically endangered flora of California