-thumb-110x110-490376.jpg)
Movie Review: Neil Young Trunk Show - Scenes From A Concert
Welcome, Spring! Cherry Blossoms Blooming at Lake Balboa
Eye Nosh: The Lazy Ox Canteen
LA Times Book Prize Nominees - Fictionally First
Hundreds of LAUSD Students Running LA Marathon Today
Whisker Brush | Tony Valois/National Park Service
"It's totally a shock to find something new when you weren't looking for it," exclaimed Tony Valois, a biological science field technician, who made the discovery. The Santa Monica Mountains are some of the most rigorously combed through mountains in the region for botanists. Considering that, Valois said to discover the plant out of it's normal ecological range is "really spectacular."
The miniature plant is an annual herb that is native to California and the Western U.S, according to the non-profit Calflora. It tends to grow in dry open areas between 5,000 to 7,000 feet elevation and blooms between April and July.
While the discovery increases the ecologcail diversity of the mountain range, it probably won't be the last. "The Santa Monicas are so diverse floristically," Valois explained, pointing out other recent discoveries. In April, a tiny white western pearlwort (photo below), typical to mountains east and south of Los Angeles, and an un-identified Gilia was also recently found on a rocky volcanic outcrop.
White Western Pearlwort | Photo by Tony Valois/National Park Service
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
There are over 1,200 plant species in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California, about one-quarter of which are not native. The National Park Service has recently completed a comprehensive vegetation map of the mountains. The diversity of plant species is one of the richest in the National Park System. Thanks for covering the find, Zach.