Sebastopol meadowfoam
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Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

SEBASTOPOL MEADOWFOAM
(Limnanthes vinculans)

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:

Sebastopol meadowfoam (Limnanthes vinculans) is a small (up to 12-inch tall), multi-stemmed herb of the false meadowfoam family (Limnanthaceae). Although the first leaves are narrow and undivided, leaves on the mature plant have three to five undivided leaflets along each side of a long stalk (petiole). The shape of the leaves distinguishes Sebastopol meadowfoam from other members of the Limnanthes genus.

Small, bowl-shaped, white flowers appear April through May. The white flowers are born singly at the end of stems. See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of the species.

DISTRIBUTION:

The species has not been recorded outside southwestern Cotati Valley, where it occurs in less than thirty locations. It is found in seasonally wet meadows, swales and vernal pools in the Laguna de Santa Rosa, Sonoma County. The species ranges from the city of Graton, east to Santa Rosa, southeast to Scenic Avenue, and southwest to the community of Cunningham, largely surrounding the northern and western perimeter of the city of Sebastopol.

Other endangered plants found in the Cotati Valley include Sonoma Sunshine or Baker's Stickyseed (Blennosperma bakeri) and Burke's Goldfields (Lasthenia burkei).

THREATS:

Primary threats to the species consist of activities that result in the destruction of the plants or hydrologic changes in their habitats. Such activities include urbanization, industrial development, agricultural land conversion, off-highway vehicle use, horseback riding, trampling by grazing cattle and road widening.

STATE & CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATUS:

This species was listed as endangered 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).

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

Photo credit: Sebastopol meadowfoam © 14994 Dean Wm. Taylor Calphoto ID: 0000 0000 0801 0381

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

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