Here are some tips on what you can grow in your garden to help prevent the extinction of California's native plants.
Here is one example of many that shows how fabulous a garden of native plants can be (California Native Plant Society).
Planting native plants in your garden is a great way to restore California's biodiversity, as too many native plant species in California have become endangered due to deforestation and introduction of invasive species. Fortunately, these species are all protected by the Endangered Species Act.
Antinoch Dunes evening-primrose (Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii)
This nice-looking flower is a seriously endangered native plant in California (CNPS). It's population has significantly declined due to sand mining, agricultural conversion of land, and invasive species (CNPS). It depends on pollinators, specifically bees, to reproduce (CDFW). This is a great plant to have in your garden if you have pure sand to plant it in.
Lyon's Pentachaeta (Pentachaeta lyonni)
This flower is a member of the sunflower family. Each year they can produce as much as a thousand seeds, each able to withstand dry years with little water in the soil (CDFW). They grow best in clay soil. Like the previous flower, this plant species is also seriously endangered in California, because of urban development, invasive species, vehicles, and recreational activities that could cause the flowers to be trampled over (CNPS).
Baker's Larkspur (Delphinium bakeri)
This blue flower requires moist soil to grow and relies on pollinators like bees and hummingbirds (CDFW). It has become nearly extinct as a result of agricultural conversion of land, road construction, and grazing (CNPS).
Certainly, there are many more endangered native plant species that you can have in your garden, as these are just a few suggestions. These species are endangered for many reasons, a common one being that they all require specific habitat conditions for survival. Although some may be more challenging to grow, the environmental reward and the surprising aesthetics are definitely worth it.
Sources:
Comments