Sibara filifolia
Sibara filifolia Santa Cruz Island winged rockcress | |
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Species: | S. filifolia
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Binomial name | |
Sibara filifolia | |
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Arabis filifolia |
Sibara filifolia, known the common names Santa Cruz Island winged rockcress[1] or Santa Cruz Island rockcres, is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it is now known from a few occurrences on San Clemente Island and one population on Catalina Island.[2]
It was once present on Santa Cruz Island, and perhaps other Channel Islands, but these occurrences were extirpated by feral goats and pigs.[3] The plant was feared extinct until small remaining occurrences were discovered in 1986.[4] A 1995 estimate of the total remaining population was 500 individuals.[3] The plant became a federally listed endangered species of the United States in 1997, along with Cercocarpus traskiae and Lithophragma maximum, two other rare Channel Islands plants.[5]
Description
Sibara filifolia is an annual herb producing a hairless, sometimes waxy stem up to around 30 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves are very narrow and almost strandlike, measuring less than a millimeter wide, and growing about 1.5 centimeters long. The flowers each have four spoon-shaped lavender petals a few millimeters long. The fruit is a flattened, elongated silique up to 4 centimeters long containing tiny seeds.
Distribution and habitat
Sibara filifolia grows in the coastal sage scrub of two islands off the coast of southern California.
References
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Sibara filifolia". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ McGlaughlin, M. E., L. E. Wallace, and K. Helenurm. (2008). Isolation of microsatellite loci from the endangered plant Sibara filifolia (Brassicaceae). Molecular Ecology Resources 8 367-69.
- ^ a b Center for Plant Conservation
- ^ California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
- ^ USFWS. Determination of endangered status for three plants from the Channel Islands of California. Federal Register 62:153 August 8, 1997.
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