Lotus dendroideus
Encyclopedia
Lotus dendroideus is a species of legume
known by the common name island broom. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California
, where it grows on coastal bluffs and cliffs. It is a spreading perennial herb or erect shrub
approaching 2 meters in height. It is hairless to hairy and gray-green in color. The branches lined with leaves each made up of a few oval leaflike leaflets up to 1.5 centimeters long each. The inflorescence
bears up to 10 yellow pealike flowers, each roughly a centimeter long and fading red as they age.
There are three varieties of this species. The rarest, var. traskiae, the San Clemente Island broom or San Clemente Island lotus, is limited to San Clemente Island
. It is treated federally as an endangered species
. In the 1990s the Navy removed goats from San Clemente Island and started a management program to benefit this species. Due to the management efforts for this species, it has increased from just 9 occurrences at the time of listing to over 150 populations consisting of over 10,000 individuals. In 2007 the US Fish & Wildlife Service recommended it be downlisted from endangered to threatened status.
Faboideae
Faboideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. One acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae....
known by the common name island broom. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
, where it grows on coastal bluffs and cliffs. It is a spreading perennial herb or erect shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
approaching 2 meters in height. It is hairless to hairy and gray-green in color. The branches lined with leaves each made up of a few oval leaflike leaflets up to 1.5 centimeters long each. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
bears up to 10 yellow pealike flowers, each roughly a centimeter long and fading red as they age.
There are three varieties of this species. The rarest, var. traskiae, the San Clemente Island broom or San Clemente Island lotus, is limited to San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
. It is treated federally as an 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...
. In the 1990s the Navy removed goats from San Clemente Island and started a management program to benefit this species. Due to the management efforts for this species, it has increased from just 9 occurrences at the time of listing to over 150 populations consisting of over 10,000 individuals. In 2007 the US Fish & Wildlife Service recommended it be downlisted from endangered to threatened status.