Navarretia ojaiensis

Navarretia ojaiensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name Ojai navarretia.[1]

Navarretia ojaiensis

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Navarretia
Species:
N. ojaiensis
Binomial name
Navarretia ojaiensis
Elvin, J.M.Porter & L.A.Johnson

Distribution

The plant is endemic to Southern California. It occurs in Ventura County, California, where it is known from the Ojai Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley, and the Santa Susana Mountains.[2] It also occurs in the Santa Monica Mountains within Los Angeles County.[3]

It is found in open areas of chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and grassland habitats.[1] It grows at elevations of 275–620 metres (902–2,034 ft).[4]

Endangered species

Navarretia ojaiensis plant is a Critically endangered species on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants.[4]

Many of the known occurrences may no longer exist, because they are in areas that have experienced urban development.[2] All but one of the remaining populations are in locations which are likely to be developed or altered.[2]

Two populations known in the Santa Monica Mountains may have been extirpated.[5] One was on land that was converted to a parking lot at the home of the composer Marco Beltrami.[6] Another population was on a slope in Agoura Hills, which was slated to be cleared for the construction of the new headquarters for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.[7]

Description

Navarretia ojaiensis is an annual herb with a spreading, upright stem growing up to 33 centimetres (13 in) long. The hairy, glandular leaves have blades divided into narrow, pointed lobes lined with tiny teeth.[8]

The inflorescence has narrow, pointed bracts and sepals around the flowers which are densely coated in shiny hairs and resin glands. The tubular flower corolla is roughly a centimeter long and white in color with purple markings in the throat. The five corolla lobes are pointed and the stamens protrude from within the throat.[8] The bloom period is May to July.[1]

This plant is new to science, having been officially described in 2007, accompanied by an updated key to the genus.[9]

See also
  • Endemic flora of California
  • Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands

References
  1. Calflora: Navarretia ojaiensis
  2. The Nature Conservancy
  3. Calflora: distribution map of Navarretia ojaiensis
  4. California Native Plant Society, Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02): Navarretia ojaiensis . accessed 28 March 2016.
  5. California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile of Navarretia ojaiensis
  6. California Native Plant Society, Channel Islands: Navarretia ojaiensis
  7. Walla-Murphy, M. Agoura Patch.com: "The Flower and the Foundation", December 9, 2010.
  8. Jepson eFlora (TJM2): Navarretia ojaiensis
  9. Johnson, L. A. (2007). Two new species and a reassessment of synonymy in the Navarretia pubescens complex (Polemoniaceae) of western North America. Novon. 17:4 454-61.
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