Search / Plant Profile / Ceanothus otayensis

Plant Profile

Otay Mountain Ceanothus (Ceanothus otayensis)

Photo Credit: John Rusk

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Rhamnaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 129052
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection:

Description:

Ceanothus otayensis is known as the Otay Mountain lilac. This critically imperiled shrub is distinct in the genus, with a short growth habit and small, thick leaves, and is found almost exclusively on Otay Mountain and neighboring San Miguel Mountain.

Where is Otay Mountain Ceanothus (Ceanothus otayensis) located in the wild?

Habitat:

This species can be found on rocky slopes, chaparral, dry slopes, and brushlands at elevations of 600-1100 m.

Distribution:

As its species name implies, it is found almost exclusively on Otay Mountain, with small populations on neighboring San Miguel Mountain and at least one population known in northern Baja, just across the boarder from Otay Mountain.

States & Provinces:

Otay Mountain Ceanothus can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Otay Mountain Ceanothus (Ceanothus otayensis)?

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

California Botanic 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

10/09/2020

A 2014 study conducted by Dr. Dylan O. Burge, Ph.D. from California Academy of Sciences investigated the role of soil chemistry in the geographic distribution of Ceanothus otayensis. Sedimentary and metavolcanic soils of C. otayensis proved to be chemically indistinguishable from one another, which may help explain its disjunct distribution (Burge 2014).

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden holds 1 accessions of Ceanothus otayensis in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 50 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, San Diego Zoo Global holds 2 accessions of Ceanothus otayensis in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 46521 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, San Diego Zoo Global has collected 2 seed accessions of Ceanothus otayensis from 2 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 261 maternal plants

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 Ceanothus otayensis from 1 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 10 maternal plants

Joe Davitt

08/22/2017

Interestingly, a very small population was discovered roughly 20 miles north of these populations. Soil studies have shown that this small population is growing in soil almost identical in mineral composition to soils found on Otay Mountain. It’s unclear if this population migrated to this location, taking advantage of the similar soil type, or if it is a remnant population, from a time when the species was more widespread.

Joe Davitt

08/02/2017

The San Diego Zoo Global Native Plant Seed Bank made two collections from populations on Otay Mountain in 2016.

Ryan Fitch

04/12/2017

The alteration of fire regimes and Border Patrol activities both serve as a serious threat to this species (CNPS 2017).

Ryan Fitch

04/12/2017

In recent (<=20 years), there have been 20 populations of the species. There are currently 26 known extant occurrences within these populations (CNPS 2017).

Ryan Fitch

04/12/2017