Franciscan wallflower
Encyclopedia
Erysimum franciscanum, commonly known as the Franciscan Wallflower or San Francisco Wallflower, is a plant endemic
to the northern California
coast, from Sonoma
to Santa Cruz Counties
. It is a member of the wallflower
genus in the mustard family
, the Brassicaceae
.
The plant is a biennial
or short-lived perennial
. The flower
s are cream-colored to yellow, with four sepals and four petals arranged in a cross shape, as is characteristic of the Brassicaceae. It flowers from late winter to late spring. The plant prefers open scrubby areas with a fair amount of sunlight, but can flourish on a range of soil
s including disintegrating serpentine
, gravelly and sandy soils. It is fairly easily cultivated in gardens.
Although not formally recognized as endangered
, the Franciscan wallflower has a limited, discontinuous distribution. It is monitored at the Presidio of San Francisco
, which was also its type locality. The plant is propagated in a nursery there and then planted in its native habitat.
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast, from Sonoma
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
to Santa Cruz Counties
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...
. It is a member of the wallflower
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...
genus in the mustard family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, the Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
.
The plant is a biennial
Biennial plant
A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...
or short-lived perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are cream-colored to yellow, with four sepals and four petals arranged in a cross shape, as is characteristic of the Brassicaceae. It flowers from late winter to late spring. The plant prefers open scrubby areas with a fair amount of sunlight, but can flourish on a range of soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s including disintegrating serpentine
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
, gravelly and sandy soils. It is fairly easily cultivated in gardens.
Although not formally recognized as endangered
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...
, the Franciscan wallflower has a limited, discontinuous distribution. It is monitored at the Presidio of San Francisco
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, which was also its type locality. The plant is propagated in a nursery there and then planted in its native habitat.