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Rare
& Endangered
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Manzanita Park is home to several plants that are considered to be rare or endangered. Yadon's Piperia, also called Yadon's Rein Orchid, is on the federal endangered species list. It is a small native orchid that stands 4 to 14 inches tall when blooming. The plants begin to appear in early spring and begin to flower in late May or early June. The flowers are mostly white with a little green at the upper edges. The flowers are clustered very close together with as many as 50 flowers on a stem. Only about 10% or less of the orchids bloom each year. Most of the orchids send up a few leaves in early spring. By the time the flower stalks appear, most of the leaves have dried up and pretty much disappeared. This makes them difficult to monitor because when the plants come up in the spring, you can't tell what kind of orchid they are. When they bloom and you can tell they are Yadon's Piperia, most of the other Yadon's Piperia that didn't bloom are nowhere to be seen. There are two other native orchids in Manzanita Park. These two orchids are not rare or endangered, but they are included here because unless the orchids are in bloom they are hard to distinguish from each other. One is another kind of piperia called Dense-flowered Rein Orchid, or Piperia Elongata. It is similar to Yadon's Piperia, but it blooms a little later and the flowers are completely green. The other orchid is known as Ladies Tresses, or Spiranthes romanzoffiana. It has white flowers that spiral up the stalk. Another rare plant found in Manzanita Park is the Monterey Spineflower, or Chorizanthe pungens. It is a truly tiny plant that grows close to the ground. Like many of the plants in Manzanita Park, it favors a sandy soil. It also grows in sand dunes near the ocean. Eastwood's Goldenbush, Ericameria fasciculata, is another rare plant found in Manzanita Park. It looks very much like Mock Heather, Ericameria ericoides, which is a much more common plant. Eastwood's Goldenbush is on the California Native Plant Society's List 1B of "rare, threatened, or endangered" plants. Both kinds of Goldenbush or Ericameria can be found in Manzanita Park. Photos:
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