''Navarretia ojaiensis'' is a rare species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
phlox family known by the common name Ojai navarretia.
[Calflora: ''Navarretia ojaiensis'']
/ref>
Distribution
The plant 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 else ...
to Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
. It occurs in Ventura County, California
Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises the Oxn ...
, where it is known from the Ojai Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley
The Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) is part of the upper watershed of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant. Located in Los Angeles County, its main population center is th ...
, and the Santa Susana Mountains
The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa C ...
.[The Nature Conservancy]
/ref> It also occurs in the Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
within Los Angeles County.
It is found in open areas of chaparral, coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...
, and grassland habitats.[ It grows at elevations of .][ California Native Plant Society, Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02): ''Navarretia ojaiensis'']
. accessed 28 March 2016.
Endangered species
''Navarretia ojaiensis'' plant is a Critically endangered species on the California Native Plant Society
The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)3) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to con ...
Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants.[
Many of the known occurrences may no longer exist, because they are in areas that have experienced ]urban development
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of peop ...
.[ All but one of the remaining populations are in locations which are likely to be developed or altered.][
Two populations known in the Santa Monica Mountains may have been ]extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
.[California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile of ''Navarretia ojaiensis'']
/ref> One was on land that was converted to a parking lot at the home of the composer Marco Beltrami.[California Native Plant Society, Channel Islands: ''Navarretia ojaiensis'']
/ref> Another population was on a slope in Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to
20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the S ...
, which was slated to be cleared for the construction of the new headquarters for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is an American non-profit charitable foundation, established in 1944 by hotel entrepreneur Conrad Hilton. It remained relatively small until his death on January 3, 1979, when it was named the principal beneficiary ...
.
Description
''Navarretia ojaiensis'' is an annual herb with a spreading, upright stem growing up to long. The hairy, glandular leaves have blades divided into narrow, pointed lobes lined with tiny teeth.[Jepson eFlora (TJM2): ''Navarretia ojaiensis'']
/ref>
The inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...
has narrow, pointed bracts and sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...
s around the flowers which are densely coated in shiny hairs and resin glands. The tubular flower corolla is roughly a centimeter long and white in color with purple markings in the throat. The five corolla lobes are pointed and the stamens protrude from within the throat.[ The bloom period is May to July.][
This plant is new to science, having been officially described in 2007, accompanied by an updated key to the genus.][Johnson, L. A. (2007). Two new species and a reassessment of synonymy in the '' Navarretia pubescens'' complex (Polemoniaceae) of western North America. ''Novon''. 17:4 454-61.]
See also
*
*
References
External links
Calflora Database: ''Navarretia ojaiensis'' (Ojai navarretia)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Navarretia ojaiensis''UC CalPhotos gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6982147
ojaiensis
Endemic flora of California
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains
Natural history of the Transverse Ranges
Natural history of Los Angeles County, California
Natural history of Ventura County, California
Ojai, California
~
Plants described in 2007
Critically endangered flora of California