''Eryngium constancei'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

known by the common name Loch Lomond button celery, or Loch Lomond coyote thistle. It 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 only three occurrences north of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. One of the populations is at the

Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Ecological Reserve The Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve of in the community of Loch Lomond in Lake County, California. It is one of 119 ecological reserves managed by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). The ecological ...

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

in Lake County. The plant appears mainly in

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s. It is

endangered 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 inva ...

on the state and federal levels.

Description

This is a hairy, somewhat fleshy,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

growing branching stems to 20 or 30 centimeters in height. Dark green, narrowly spade-shaped leaves grow on long petioles and may grow erect with the stems or lie flat along the ground. They may have smooth to toothed to sharply serrated edges.

Flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

are less than a centimeter wide with a few longer, straight, sharp

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s around the base. The tiny flowers packed into the rounded head are generally white. This plant is threatened by destruction of its fragile vernal pool habitat by a number of causes, including sediment-rich runoff into the pools from

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

activity, erosion, development, and

off-road vehicles An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of off-roading, driving on and off Pavement (material), paved or gravel surface. It is generally characteri ...

External links

Calflora Database: ''Eryngium constancei'' (Loch Lomond button celery, Loch Lomond eryngo)Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Eryngium constancei''USDA Plants Profile for ''Eryngium constancei'' (Loch Lomond eryngo)Center for Plant Conservation.org ProfileUC CalPhotos gallery of ''Eryngium constancei'' (Loch Lomond eryngo)
constancei Endemic flora of California Critically endangered flora of California {{Apiaceae-stub