''Brodiaea pallida'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the cluster-lily genus known by the common name Chinese Camp brodiaea.

Distribution

''Brodiaea pallida'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it is known from a two populations along the border between Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties.USFWS
Five Year Review: ''B. pallida''.
January 10, 2008. The first population is at the type locality near Chinese Camp and contains a varying number of individuals which has been estimated at 600 to 5000. This population is limited to a tract of land which is privately owned. The plant was federally listed as a threatened species in 1998. In the year 2000, a second population was discovered away, and it may contain up to 10,000 individuals. The species is threatened by development of its habitat.

Description

''Brodiaea pallida'' is a perennial producing an

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

up to about tall bearing pale purple flowers on short

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

. Each flower has six strongly curving

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s about a centimeter long. In the center of the flower are three erect white, notch-tipped sterile

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s called

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s, each about as long as the tepals. Within these are the fertile stamens. Flowering occurs in late May and early June.

Conservation

This plant grows in mixed soils of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

and serpentine origin in vernally moist areas of

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

next to intermittent streams. At the time it was placed on the endangered species list, it was known only from a strip of land under long and just wide, and was at risk for

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

from any one destructive event. The population had been fragmented and part was destroyed by construction activity in 1982. It was listed as a threatened species rather than an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

because no further disturbance was planned for the area at the time. The second population is also located on privately owned land. It is on the outskirts of the town of Copperopolis, and it is in a zone slated for residential construction. Even if development does not occur at the locations of the plants, development activity nearby could still affect them by altering the flow of the streams, increasing

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

, or encouraging development of

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s and

firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...

s. The

genetic variability Genetic variability is either the presence of, or the generation of, genetic differences. It is defined as "the formation of individuals differing in genotype, or the presence of genotypically different individuals, in contrast to environmentally i ...

of the populations is unknown because it reproduces vegetatively by

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, cl ...

as well as sexually by seed.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4973003 pallida Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of Tuolumne County, California Critically endangered flora of California