Stebbins's Morning Glory
See photo info

Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

STEBBINS'S MORNING GLORY
(Calystegia stebbinsii)

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:

Stebbins's morning glory (Calystegia stebbinsii) is a leafy perennial herb in the morning-glory family (Convolvulaceae). Its stems range up to 3.3 feet in length and generally lie flat on the ground. The leaves are palmately lobed (i.e., the lobes radiate out like fingers from the palm of a hand). The two outermost lobes are divided again. The 7 to 9 leaf lobes are narrow and lance-shaped. The distinctively shaped leaves distinguish Stebbins's morning glory from other California morning-glories. 

White flowers which appear in May through June on stalks 1 to 5 inches long. Each flower has two leaf-like bracts. The fruit is a slender capsule. See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of the species.

DISTRIBUTION:

Stebbins's morning glory grows in two localized areas near Pine Hill in the Sierra Nevada foothills of western El Dorado County. The species was also recently was discovered in Nevada County near the County landfill. It may have been transplanted from El Dorado County by the transport of soil to the Nevada County Sanitary Landfill. Most of the plants are on private property.

In El Dorado County, the species is associated with chaparral on gabbro-derived soils. In Nevada County it occurs on serpentine soil.

Gabbro-derived soils originate from mafic rocks (gabbrodiorite) that are mildly acidic, are rich in iron and magnesium, and 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.

Serpentine-derived soils are formed through a process similar to formation of gabbro-derived soils. Serpentine soils are derived from ultramafic rocks (e.g., serpentinite, dunite, and peridotite). They tend to have high concentrations of magnesium, chromium, and nickel, and low concentrations of calcium, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Serpentine soils are considered to be similar to gabbro because of their mineral composition and because they appear to influence plant distributions in much the same way.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Development has extirpated at least one-third of the known occurrences. Other threats to these populations include off-road vehicle use, grading, dumping, road maintenance, changes in fire frequency, and competition with nonnative plants.

This species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in August 1981. 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.

General Information about California Plants

Photo credit: Stebbins's Morning Glory © 2002 Steve Tyron Calphoto ID: 0000 0000 0502 0654

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

Contact us: Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825 Phone (916) 414-6600 ~ FAX (916) 414-6713 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a part of the United States Government Department of Interior Many documents on our web site are published using Adobe's® Portable Document Format (PDF). To display or print these documents, you must use the Acrobat® reader, which you can download free at Acrobat® Reader. Privacy and Security, Disclaimer, Copyright and Technology Requirements Webmaster fw1sacweb@fws.gov (To comment on specific issues see our comment page.) is the U.S. Government Search Engine Regulations.gov - Federal web site that makes it easier for you to participate in Federal rulemaking. On this site, you can find, review, and submit comments on Federal documents that are open for comment and published in the Federal Register, the Government's legal newspaper.

Students! Career-related training and employment. Protect and conserve fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Vacation, holiday and sick leave. Your student job could lead to a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Check out the national Student Job page.