The Brief

An endangered flower one scientist called a “tiny mystery” has cropped up in astonishing numbers in San Luis Obispo County.

Scientists were stunned this spring to find 16,000 Camatta Canyon amoles at Las Piletas Ranch, about 50 miles inland from San Luis Obispo. The flower was previously thought to have a worldwide population of 10,000 plants.

The Camatta Canyon amole had only been known to grow in two locations within a 90-acre area of the Los Padres National Forest. The rare flower is protected under the state and federal Endangered Species acts, but this discovery by scientists from the Nature Conservancy and the California Native Plant Society could challenge that status.

The amole — with royal purple blooms atop eight-inch spiny stalks — can be tough to spot. The amole, a Spanish word that loosely translates to soap root, refers to the Chlorogalum genus that often makes strong soaps and detergent. Its scientific name is Chlorogalum purpureum var. reductum.

Though there are other types of amoles in western North America, this one is unique.

“Often, rare plants live their life without a lot of media exposure,” said Tim Becker, director of horticulture at the Thomas Payne Foundation. “This one’s definitely what I would call a deeper cut of native plants.”

Scott Butterfield, the lead scientist with the Nature Conservancy in California who surveyed and discovered the amole with his team, certainly dug deep to find the flower, which grows in a distinct topography.

He found the plant growing on the slope between vernal pools — springtime ponds typically caused by heavy rainfall — and the natural, domelike hills called mima mounds that surround them.

Heather Schneider, a senior rare plant conservation scientist at the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden, led a three-year conservation project of the Camatta Canyon amole. Why is it so scarce? Human-driven off-road vehicles and livestock grazing smash it, and it has such a limited geographical range. Some years, the amole doesn’t bloom at all.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about how and why it germinates abundantly in a given year,” she said.

Butterfield and Schneider hypothesized that weather conditions may have led to this year’s extraordinary uptick. Drought-like conditions, which harm plants in competition with the amole, were followed by a few years of higher rainfall. Becker added that wildfires and late rain may have also led to similarly favorable conditions for the amole. That may have strengthened amole bulbs underground.

The amole is only known in two locations and is protected under the state and federal Endangered Species acts.

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The Nature Conservancy

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Butterfield also noted the possibility that the amole has existed there the whole time. He had found a few flowers in 2024, which led him to officially survey the land this year.

“We’ve only owned the property for about five years, so it is very likely that the plant has existed there,” he said.

Butterfield’s discovery hints at the possibility of finding other amole blooms, potentially even challenging its endangered status.

Every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services conducts a review of plants and animals listed as threatened. By the next review, Butterfield hopes to have established a new location where the amole grows and have added enough numbers to the population that it can be taken off the endangered species list.

This change in standing, he hopes, may lead to more attention on the plant.

“Until you find a plant like this on your landscape, there aren’t that many people out there looking for it,” he said. “It might exist in other locations; we just haven’t looked.”

For a plant that had been on the decline since the 1980s, simply the potential for research is exciting.

“Until a couple months ago, I never would have even contemplated a study around Camata Canyon amole, or a rare plant on our property,” Butterfield said.

Schneider agreed that this discovery is encouraging and stressed conservation efforts. Having collected five seed samples during her study in 2021 to 2024, collecting more would be important for the future of the plant, especially in uncertain temperature conditions.

The amole may have blossomed because of drought-like conditions followed by higher rainfall in recent years, scientists hypothesize.

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The Nature Conservancy

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“Every opportunity we have to get genotypes into long-term conservation is a little insurance policy against extinction,” she said.

She echoed Butterfield’s optimism and offered a broader perspective on conservation.

“Nature doesn’t work on our time scales,” she said. “All is not lost. There’s still hope. Nature waits. And I hope it inspires people that putting efforts into conservation and looking for plants pays off.”

By the end of January, students will have returned to two of the three public school campuses burned in the Palisades Fire one year prior, though their classrooms are temporary.

Palisades Charter High School students are scheduled to return to their campus Jan. 27. They’ve been in a refurbished Santa Monica department store since April.

“ I am just overwhelmed with gratitude for the constant support that has been shown for our school and for our families, our teachers, all of our administrators and staff,” said Principal Pamela Magee at a press conference Tuesday with Los Angeles Unified leaders. Pali High is an independent charter high school located on district property.

In June, the LAUSD Board approved a $604 million plan to rebuild the high school, as well as two burned district elementary schools— Marquez and Palisades.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the three campuses’ new buildings will open in 2028— shaving two years off of the original 5-year timeline.

“ These projects will come in on time or ahead of schedule,” Carvalho said. “These projects will come in at or below budget, and these projects will honor the resilience, the determination, the courage and yes, the suffering and the sacrifice of the community of the Palisades.”

About the costs and the design

The district plans to use money from the $9 billion bond voters approved in 2024 to help pay for the rebuild, but also anticipates some reimbursement from its insurer and FEMA.

District-contracted architects are finalizing their designs and plan to submit to the state for approval in the spring, said Chief Facilities Executive Krisztina Tokes. She said the plan is to rebuild with future environmental risks in mind.

“ From the earliest design stages, wildfire resiliency has been treated as a core requirement and not an add-on,” Tokes said. For example, using fire-resistant concrete blocks, installing enhanced air filtration systems and planting shade trees where they won’t hang over buildings.

Environmental testing preceded students’ return to the fire-impacted campuses. Director of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety Carlos Torres said the district continues to monitor air quality through its network of sensors and is developing a plan for periodic testing.

“We just can't just walk away,” Torres said.

Enrollment is down at all three schools compared to before the fires, but district leaders say they are confident families will return to the rebuilt campuses.

“I find it hard to believe that this community won't come back to its former glory,” said Board Member Nick Melvoin, who represents the Palisades. “We gave a lot of thought in an accelerated timeline to rebuilding for the next century.”

Marquez Charter Elementary

What’s the damage? The campus is a “total loss.” More than three dozen classrooms, administration buildings, the school’s auditorium and playground burned down.

How much has LAUSD budgeted to rebuild? $202.6 million

Where are the students? Students returned in September to portables covering about one-third of the campus. There’s also two playgrounds, a garden, library and shaded lunch area. Enrollment has dropped 60% compared to before the fire from 310 to 127 students.

What’s next? District-contracted architects are finalizing their designs and plan to submit to the state for approval in the spring.

Palisades Charter Elementary School teacher Ms. Davison talks with her students in their new classroom on the campus of Brentwood Elementary Science Magnet last year.

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Brian van der Brug

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Palisades Charter Elementary

What’s the damage? About 70% of the campus was destroyed including 17 classrooms, the multipurpose room and play equipment.

How much has LAUSD budgeted to rebuild? $135 million

Where are the students? Students continue to share a campus with Brentwood Science Magnet. Enrollment has dropped 25% compared to before the fire from 410 to 307 students.

What’s next? District-contracted architects are finalizing their designs and plan to submit to the state for approval in the spring.

Palisades Charter High School, pictured in December 2025, is scheduled to reopen to students Jan. 27, 2026.

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Kayla Bartkowski

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Palisades Charter High School

What’s the damage? About 30% of the campus was destroyed including 21 classrooms, storage facilities and the track and field.

How much has LAUSD budgeted to rebuild? $266 million

Where are the students? Students started the school year in a renovated Sears building in downtown Santa Monica. Enrollment has dropped 14% compared to before the fire, from 2,900 to 2,500 students.

What’s next? Classes will resume at the main campus Tues. Jan. 27 in a combination of surviving buildings and 30 new portable classrooms.

The Trump administration says it’s planning to freeze about $10 billion in federal support for needy families in California and four other Democrat-run states, as the president announced an investigation into unspecified fraud in California.

The plans come on the heels of the Trump administration announcing a freeze on all federal payments for child care in Minnesota, citing fraud allegations against daycare centers in the state.

The state’s Democrat governor, Tim Walz — who ran for vice president against Donald Trump’s ticket in 2024 — announced Monday he was dropping out of running for reelection. He pointed to fraud against the state, saying it’s a real issue while alleging Trump and his allies were “seeking to take advantage of the crisis.”

On Monday, the New York Post reported that the administration was expanding the funding freeze to include California and three other Democrat-led states, in addition to Minnesota. Unnamed federal officials cited “concerns that the benefits were fraudulently funneled to non-citizens,” The Post reported.

Early Tuesday, President Trump alleged that corruption in California is worse than Minnesota and announced an investigation.

“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

He did not specify what alleged fraud was being examined in the Golden State.

LAist has reached out to the White House to ask what the president’s fraud concerns are in California and to request an interview with the president.

“For too long, Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” said an emailed statement from Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the federal childcare funds.

“Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure these states are following the law and protecting hard-earned taxpayer money.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office disputed Trump’s claim on social media, arguing that since taking office, the governor has blocked $125 billion in fraud and arrested “criminal parasites leaching off of taxpayers.”

Criminal fraud cases in CA appear to be rare for this program

Defrauding federally funded programs is a crime — and one LAist has investigated, leading to one of the largest such criminal cases in recent years against a California elected official, which surrounded meal funds.

When it comes to the federal childcare funds that are being frozen, the dollar amount of fraud alleged in criminal cases appears to be a tiny fraction of the overall program’s spending in California.

A search of thousands of news releases by all four federal prosecutor offices in California, going back more than a decade, found a total of one criminal case where the press releases referenced childcare benefits.

That case, brought in 2023, alleged four men stole $3.7 million in federal childcare benefits through fraudulent requests to a San Diego organization that distributed the funds. All four pleaded guilty, with one defendant sentenced to 27 months in prison and others sentenced to other terms, according to authorities.

It appears to be equivalent to one one-hundredth of 1% of all the childcare funding California has received over the past decade-plus covered by the prosecution press release search.

Potential impact on California families

The plans call for California, Minnesota, New York, Illinois and Colorado to lose about $7 billion in cash assistance for households with children, almost $2.4 billion to care for children of working parents, and about $870 million for social services grants that mostly benefit children at risk, according to unnamed federal officials speaking to the New York Times and New York Post.

In the largest category of funding, California receives $3.7 billion per year. The program is known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF.

 ”It's very clear that a freeze of those funds would be very damaging to the children, families, and providers of California,” said Stacy Lee, who oversees early childhood initiatives "at Children Now, an advocacy group for children in California.

 ”It is a significant portion of our funds and will impact families and children and providers across the whole state,” she added. “It would be devastating, in no uncertain terms.”

About 270,000 people are served by the TANF program in L.A. County — about 200,000 of whom are children, according to the county Department of Public Social Services.

“Any pause in funding for their cash benefits – which average $1000/month - would be devastating to these families,” said DPSS chief of staff Nick Ippolito.

Ippolito said the department has a robust fraud prevention and 170-person investigations team, and takes allegations “very seriously.”

It remains to be seen whether the funding freeze will end up in court. The state, as well as major cities and counties in California, has sued to ask judges to halt funding freezes or new requirements placed by the Trump administration. L.A. city officials say they’ve had success with that, including shielding more than $600 million in federal grant funding to the city last year.

A union representing California childcare workers said the funding freeze would harm low-income families.

“These threats need to be called out for what they are: direct threats on working families of all backgrounds who rely on access to quality, affordable child care in their communities to go to work every day supporting, and growing our economy,” said Max Arias, chairperson for the Child Care Providers United, which says it represents more than 70,000 child care workers across the state who care for kids in their homes.

“Funding freezes, even when intended to be temporary, will be devastating — resulting in families losing access to care and working parents facing the devastating choice of keeping their children safe or paying their bills.”

Federal officials planned to send letters to the affected states Monday about the planned funding pauses, the New York Post reported. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, state officials said they haven’t gotten any official notification of the funding freeze plans.

“The California Department of Social Services administers child care programs that help working families afford safe, reliable care for their children — so parents can go to work, support their families, and contribute to their communities,” said a statement from California Department of Social Services spokesperson Jason Montiel.

“These funds are critical for working families across California. We take fraud seriously, and CDSS has received no information from the federal government indicating any freeze, pause, or suspension of federal child care funding.”