Baker's Stickyseed
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Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

BAKER'S STICKYSEED
(Blennosperma bakeri)

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 56:61173 (pdf); December 2, 1991)

CRITICAL HABITAT: None designated.

RECOVERY PLAN:  Draft Vernal Pool Ecosystem Recovery Plan (pdf), November 18, 2004.

DESCRIPTION:

Baker's stickyseed (Blennosperma bakeri), which is also known as Sonoma sunshine, is a small (up to 12 inches in height), annual herb in the aster family (Asteraceae). The plant has alternate, narrow, hairless leaves, 2 to 6 inches long. The upper ones have 1 to 3 lobes, the lower ones none.

From March through April, the species produces yellow daisy-like flowers. The yellow disk flowers have white pollen and stigmas. Sterile ray flowers, which are yellow or sometimes white, have red stigmas. The lobe pattern of the leaves and the color of ray stigmas separate this species from other in the genus.  See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description.

DISTRIBUTION:

Blennosperma bakeri is found in grasslands and vernal pools. The species is restricted to the Laguna de Santa Rosa and Sonoma areas in Sonoma County. According to the California Natural Diversity Database, there are currently 22 populations believed to be extant. Several other populations have been extirpated.

Other endangered plants found in the Cotati Valley include Sebastopol meadowfoam (Limnanthes vinculans) and Burke's Goldfields (Lasthenia Burkei).

THREATS:

Approximately 30 percent of the historic occurrences have been eliminated or seriously damaged. Most of the remaining sites are threatened by urbanization, wastewater effluent irrigation, and agricultural land conversion. Westward expansion of the City of Santa Rosa threatens at least half the remaining habitat.

STATE & CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATUS:

The species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in February 1992. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (See our Disclaimer)

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1991. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Three Plants: Blennosperma bakeri (Sonoma Sunshine or Baker's Stickyseed), Lasthenia burkei (Burke's Goldfields), and Limnanthes vinculans (Sebastopol Meadowfoam). Portland, Oregon.

See also: Madroño 9:103-104 (1947).

General Information about California Plants

Credits: Detail of photo by J. E.(Jed) and Bonnie McClellan, California Academy of Sciences Calphoto ID: 8253 3202 0971 0117

Prepared by Endangered Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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