Erysimum teretifolium
Encyclopedia
Erysimum teretifolium is a species of wallflower
known by the common names Santa Cruz wallflower and Ben Lomond wallflower. It is a very rare plant endemic to Santa Cruz County, California
, where it grows on inland sand spits, chaparral
, and sandstone
deposits in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains
. It is a California state and federally listed endangered species
.
This plant is a biennial or perennial herb with one or more unbranched erect dark reddish-purple stems reaching anywhere from 15 centimeters to nearly a meter in height. There are a few straight, somewhat toothed, dark greenish leaves along the stems. At the tops of the stems are thin clusters of flowers with rounded bright to dark yellow or orangish petals, each one or two centimeters long. The flowers drop to leave long, flat fruits which are silique
s up to 15 centimeters long, sticking out from the stem.
This species is only found within a strip of land measuring 9 miles long by 5 miles wide. The plant is mainly threatened by coastal and inland development in the area and mining of the sand it lives in. About 75% of the remaining plants grow on land belonging to a sand mining company
. Fire suppression has also altered the habitat to the detriment of the plant; leaf and needle litter builds up while the plant requires stretches of open sand. Urban development is another threat, destroying habitat and leading to habitat fragmentation
.
There are about 13 known extant populations. Several others are believed to have been extirpated
. Habitat that has been damaged by sand mining operations will likely never be restored to their natural condition.
Wallflower
Erysimum is a genus that includes about 180 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus Cheiranthus is sometimes included herein whole or in part. Erysimum has recently adscribed to a monogeneric cruciferous tribe, Erysimeae...
known by the common names Santa Cruz wallflower and Ben Lomond wallflower. It is a very rare plant endemic to Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
, where it grows on inland sand spits, chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
deposits in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...
. It is a California state and federally listed endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
This plant is a biennial or perennial herb with one or more unbranched erect dark reddish-purple stems reaching anywhere from 15 centimeters to nearly a meter in height. There are a few straight, somewhat toothed, dark greenish leaves along the stems. At the tops of the stems are thin clusters of flowers with rounded bright to dark yellow or orangish petals, each one or two centimeters long. The flowers drop to leave long, flat fruits which are silique
Silique
A silique or siliqua is a fruit of 2 fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. The outer walls of the ovary usually separate when ripe, leaving a persistent partition...
s up to 15 centimeters long, sticking out from the stem.
This species is only found within a strip of land measuring 9 miles long by 5 miles wide. The plant is mainly threatened by coastal and inland development in the area and mining of the sand it lives in. About 75% of the remaining plants grow on land belonging to a sand mining company
Sand mining
Sand mining is a practice that is becoming an environmental issue as the demand for sand increases in industry and construction. Sand is mined from beaches and inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds and river beds. It is often used in manufacturing as an abrasive, for example, and it is used to...
. Fire suppression has also altered the habitat to the detriment of the plant; leaf and needle litter builds up while the plant requires stretches of open sand. Urban development is another threat, destroying habitat and leading to habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
.
There are about 13 known extant populations. Several others are believed to have been extirpated
Local extinction
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, is the condition of a species which ceases to exist in the chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere...
. Habitat that has been damaged by sand mining operations will likely never be restored to their natural condition.