Burke's Goldfields
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Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

BURKE'S GOLDFIELDS
(Lasthenia burkei)

Calyx view

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

CRITICAL HABITAT:  None designated

RECOVERY PLAN: none

DESCRIPTION:

Burke's goldfields (Lasthenia burkei) is a small, slender annual herb in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It  has narrow, opposite leaves. The plant can be easily confused with other goldfields such as Contra Costa goldfields (L. conjugens) by people not trained in botany. See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of Burke's goldfields and other goldfields (Lasthenia) species.

Flowers bloom from April until June. Both the ray and disk flowers are yellow, while the pappus (seed appendage that aids dispersal by acting like a little parachute) usually consists of one long bristle and several short bristles.

DISTRIBUTION:

This vernal pool species is known only from southern portions of Lake and Mendocino counties and from northeastern Sonoma County. Historically, 39 populations were known from the Cotati valley, 2 sites in Lake county, and one site in Mendocino County. The occurrence in Mendocino County is most likely extirpated. From north to south in the Cotati Valley, the species ranges from north of the community of Windsor to east of the city of Sebastopol.

Other endangered plants found in the Cotati Valley include Sonoma Sunshine or Baker's Stickyseed (Blennosperma Bakeri) and Sebastopol meadowfoam (Limnanthes vinculans).

THREATS:

Primary threats to the species consist of activities that result in the destruction of the plants or hydrologic changes in their vernal pool habitats. Such activities include urbanization, industrial development, agricultural land conversion, off-highway vehicle use, horseback riding, trampling by grazing cattle, and road widening. Damage or destruction of vernal pool habitat happens quickly and easily due to the extremely friable nature of the soil and the dependency of the pool upon an intact durapan (impermeable subsurface soil layer).

This species can be easily confused with other goldfields (Lasthenia). It can be separated from similar members of the genus by others having a pappus having two or more long bristles or the pappus is absent entirely.

STATE & CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATUS:

This species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in September 1997. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

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.

General Information about California Plants

Credits: Photos of Burke's goldfields © 2002 John Game Calphoto ID: 0000 0000 0602 0041 and ID: 0000 0000 0602 0040

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

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