Dedicated to the preservation of California's native plants

The mission of the California Native Plant Society is to increase understanding and appreciation of California’s native plants and to conserve them and their natural habitats through education, science, advocacy, horticulture and land stewardship.

June Chapter Meeting

Thursday June 3, 2021 @ 7pm on Zoom

2021 McLeod scholarship recipients

Lichen biotas of ultramafic and sandstone outcrops along a maritime gradient – emerging patterns, preliminary results, and notable species

Michael Mulroy is conducting research at Cal Poly with Dr. Nishi Rajakaruna on saxicolous (i.e., rock-dwelling) lichen communities. Saxicolous lichens are highly diverse, ecologically important, often eye-catching, and yet under-studied. Descriptive and quantitative ecological studies of these communities are particularly scant in North America. Our research sets out to better understand how lichen community composition responds to variation in substrate elemental composition, macro- and microtopography, as well as climate factors related to maritime influence. To do this, we are conducting quantitative sampling of saxicolous communities on eight ultramafic and eight sandstone outcrops along a 70 km coast-inland gradient of decreasing maritime influence. Michael will outline the state of knowledge of lichens on ultramafic substrates in North America and present some preliminary results from field sampling to date. These data include range extensions of several rare or otherwise notable lichen species, as well as over a dozen additions to the list of lichens recorded on ultramafic substrates.

Saving the rare northern island mallow on Anacapa Island – past, present, and future

Stephanie Calloway is working on the critically endangered island mallow (Malva assurgentiflora subsp. assurgentiflora) with Dr. Jenn Yost at Cal Poly. The California Channel Islands, often described as the Galapagos of North America, harbor some of the most unique plant diversity in California. Over 240 plant species are endemic to the islands. Unfortunately, introduced herbivores drastically degraded island ecosystems and many habitats remain greatly altered. As a result, the species they support have been pushed to the brink of extinction. One such species is the northern island mallow, a rare perennial shrub endemic to Anacapa and San Miguel Islands. Introduced herbivores extirpated the plant on Anacapa Island. Fortunately, seed was collected from the last remaining plants and used to create a new population on East Anacapa Island. Currently, 1,000 planted Malva are managed by the National Park Service in a one-acre restoration site. While adult plants appear to be thriving, there is almost no reproduction of new seedlings. This alarming lack of recruitment puts Malva at risk for future declines. Stephanie will present an overview of her research aimed at identifying the factors limiting the recruitment of the Northern Island Mallow on Anacapa Island.

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