Search / Plant Profile / Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae

Plant Profile

Trask's Island Lotus (Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae)

Global Rank: T3 - Vulnerable
Legal Status: Federally Threatened
Family: Fabaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 160406
Lifeform: Subshrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 02/10/1987

Description:

Lotus dendroideus var. traskiae is a perennial bush bearing silky branches dotted with yellow or red flowers. This legume is endemic to San Clemente Island, part of the Channel Islands, California. It grows on open, grassy slopes and hillsides. The Island's long history of herbviory has severely altered native communities; currently, only 30 occurrences of this species have survived (CDFG 2002). In January 2023, this species was delisted by the USFWS.

Where is Trask's Island Lotus (Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Lotus dendroideus var. traskiae grows on open, grassy, north facing slopes and hillsides (CDFG 2002).

Distribution:

This species is endemic to San Clemente Island, part of the Channel Islands, California.

States & Provinces:

Trask's Island Lotus can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Trask's Island Lotus (Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

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, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden holds 1 accessions of Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae in orthodox seed collection. We are uncertain as to how many total seeds are in this collection.

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 5 accessions of Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 20031 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has collected 1 seed accessions of Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae from 1 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 50 maternal plants

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden has collected 2 seed accessions of Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae from 2 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 12 maternal plants

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Endemic to San Clemente Island, California.

01/01/2010

The introduction of alien herbivores more than a century ago has had dramatic negative effects on plant community composition on all of the Channel Islands. These effects include the reduction of native plant cover, density and biomass. Intensive herbivor

01/01/2010

Approximately 30 existing sites are known. (CDFG 2002)

01/01/2010

Liston and colleagues (1990) found a low degree of hybridization between Lotus species on San Clemente Island. Although hybridization was not extensive, it may still pose a long-term threat (Liston et al. 1990).

01/01/2010

Since the U.S. Navy has removed goats, as a part of its Feral Animal Removal Program, the general condition of native species has improved (CDFG 2002).

01/01/2010

Population monitoring and continued habitat restoration as well as understanding reproductive ecology and habitat needs through various life stages will all aid in conservation efforts.