El Dorado Bedstraw
See photo info
Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office
Species Account
EL DORADO BEDSTRAW
(Galium californicum ssp. sierrae)
CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 61:54346 pdf; October 18, 1996)
CRITICAL HABITAT: None designated.
RECOVERY PLAN: Recovery Plan for Gabbro Soil Plants of the Central Sierra Foothills. 2002
DESCRIPTION:
El Dorado bedstraw (Galium californicum ssp. sierrae) is a softly hairy perennial herb in the coffee family (Rubiaceae). Four narrow leaves are arranged at each node. Pale yellow flowers, which are clustered at the tips of stems, appear in May and June. Minute hairs cover the fleshy fruit. El Dorado bedstraw can be distinguished from other subspecies of G. californicum by its very narrow leaves.
See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of the entire species.
DISTRIBUTION:
El Dorado bedstraw is restricted to one localized area--Pine Hill, El Dorado County, and surrounding ridges to the west within a distance of approximately 2.5 miles. It grows in oak woodland areas, including sites with ponderosa pine and gray pine, on gabbro soils.
Gabbro soils originate from volcanic rocks (gabbrodiorite) that are mildly acidic, rich in iron and magnesium, but low in calcium. They often contain other heavy metals such as chromium. Gabbro, a dark large-crystalled rock, is formed when liquid magma cools slowly underground. A red soil is formed when the rock is exposed and weathers at the earth's surface. These soils are well-drained and are underlain by gabbrodiorite rocks at a depth of more than 3 feet.
THREATS:
Residential development, road construction, grazing by horses and irrigation threaten this species. Restricted distribution and limited numbers of individuals make it susceptible to catastrophic events such as disease or pest outbreak, severe drought, or other natural disasters.
Most of the plants are on private land. The Bureau of Land Management manages the land where at least one population occurs. The California Departments of Forestry and Fire Protection and Fish and Game manage another site.
STATE & CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATUS:
This species was listed as rare by the California Department of Fish and Game in November 1979. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).
Learn more about protection efforts by the Pine Hill Preserve.
REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1996. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Four Plants and Threatened Status for One Plant From the Central Sierran Foothills of California. Portland, Oregon.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. Recovery Plan for Gabbro Soil Plants of the Central Sierra Nevada Foothills. Portland, Oregon.
Wilson, J.L. 1986. A study of plant species diversity and vegetation pattern associated with the Pine Hill gabbro formation and adjacent substrata, El Dorado County, California. California State University. Sacramento. Thesis.
General Information about California Plants
Photo credit: El Dorado bedstraw, by Harry Mossman, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Prepared by Endangered
Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife
Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service
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