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Plant Profile

Loch Lomond Button-celery (Eryngium constancei)

This tiny perennial herb grows to only a height of 30 cm (12 in). Photo Credit: Holly Forbes

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: Federally Endangered
Family: Apiaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 151261
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 08/30/1988

Description:

Loch Lomond button-celery is a low-growing annual herb with tiny white to light purple flowers found only in northern California. This species grows in the bed of a small vernal lake, surrounded by a ponderosa pine and black oak forest, in the Loch Lomond Ecological Reserve in Lake County. Another population of Loch Lomond button-celery was discovered in 1996 in two spring-fed, shallow pools in Sonoma County. A berm has been built to prevent runoff into the pools at this location from increased sedimentation due to logging in the area. A third population was discovered in Lake County in 1997. This population was threatened by soil erosion into its pool habitat due to vegetation removal along the edges; it is also at risk from planned reservoir construction (CDFG 2002).

Where is Loch Lomond Button-celery (Eryngium constancei) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Vernal lakes and pools.

Distribution:

Lake and Sonoma Counties, California

States & Provinces:

Loch Lomond Button-celery can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Loch Lomond Button-celery (Eryngium constancei)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

University of California Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 1 accessions of Eryngium constancei in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 346 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Endemic to California, Eryngium constancei is known only from three occurrences in two vernal lakes in Lake County and two pools in Sonoma County. Threats are development, ORVs, foot traffic, trash dumping, and logging. This plant is very fragile; its only relatively protected site is threatened by timber harvest, ORVs and proximity to a major road.

Holly Forbes

01/01/2010

Development Off-road vehicles Reservoir construction Foot traffic Trash dumping Erosion caused by logging (CDFG 2002; USFWS 1993)

Holly Forbes

01/01/2010

It is known only from three populations in two vernal lakes in Lake County and two pools in Sonoma County. As with any annual species, the number of plants in each population varies from year to year. During good years there may be thousands of plants in each population (CDFG 2002).

Holly Forbes

01/01/2010

None at this time.

Holly Forbes

01/01/2010

A berm has been built to prevent runoff into the pools from increased sedimentation due to logging in the area at the Sonoma County location. The Lake County population was threatened by soil erosion into its pool habitat due to vegetation removal along the edges; it is also at risk from planned reservoir construction.

Holly Forbes

01/01/2010

survey for additional populations monitoring protection from runoff

Holly Forbes

01/01/2010

Additional seed collection for long-term storage is desirable.