1. Introduction

California Vegetation 1995 Uniqueness of California

• Most diverse in temperate North America • Few in temperate regions of the world approach California’s biodiversity Why so diverse

• Size of the state: 800 miles long, 200 miles wide • Range of latitudes: 33° to 42° N • Topography: -276 to 14495 ft

How Unique Really?

Region Area (km2) Latitude (°) Altitude (m) # of Species Diversity/Adjusted by area California 9 411,000 4,480 4,844 1.00/1.00 (33-42 N) Texas 10 692,400 2,667 4,498 0.93/0.55 (26-36 N) Florida 6.7 (24.3- 4,300 151,900 105 0.89/2.40 31 N) (incl. naturalized) Italy 13 5599 294,100 4,810 1.16/1.62 (35-48 N) (all vascular plants) Chile 39 5284 743,800 6,893 1.09/0.60 (17-56 S) (all vascular plants) Peru 18 17144 1,280,000 6,800 3.54/1.14 (0-18 S) (all vascular plants) Taiwan 3.2 36,000 3,950 4,077 0.84/9.61 (22-25.2 N) Vascular plants

• Vascular Plants: those with xylem and phloem tissues to transport water, nutrients, etc. (focus of the book) • Non-vascular Plants: algae, mosses, liverworts, fungi Flora vs Vegetation

• Flora: all the plant species of a place • Vegetation: the general aspect and species composition of the plant life of a place – Plant Community: a general term for the assemblage of plant species growing together in a particular area – Vegetation Types: such as various kinds of forests, woodlands, grasslands, marshlands Vegetation Flora

Native: 4,844 species, 82.5% of total; alien species 17.5%. Source of the text: 1993 The Jepson Manual. Large families

47% of species are from these 8 families. Introduction to California Plant Life 2003

Family # of genera # of species % of the flora Asteraceae 185 907 14% Poaceae 106 438 7% Fabaceae 44 400 6% Scrophularacae 30 313 5% Brassicaceae 56 279 4% Cyperaceae 14 210 3%

Total: 39% Source of the text: CNPS 2001 6,300 native plants (vs. 4,844 in Jepson 1993) Large genera

10.6% of the species are from these 7 genera. Floristic Provinces

• California F. P.: west of Cascade-Sierra Nevada mountains, and Transverse and Peninsular Ranges. Including a corner of Oregon and a corner of Baja California. • Great Basin F. P.: rain shadow of C.F.P., north of Owens Lake and Death Valley; plateau, high desert, basin and range. Extending to Nevada, Utah and other adjacent states. • Sonoran F. P.: hot, dry deserts of transmontane California south of Owens and Death Valley. Including Mojave and Colorado Deserts. Covering a large portion of the southwestern US and northern Mexico. Source: Wikipedia California Floristic Province

• Area: 85% of the state • Vascular species: 81% Endemism

An endemic species is one that is confined to a specific location. About 50% of the species in California Floristic Province are endemic. Possible reasons for high endemism

• Specialized climate: Mediterranean, coastal fog drip, etc. • Specialized soil: serpentine, dune, vernal pool, etc. • Paleoendemics (Relict species): widespread in the past. • Neoendemics: more recently evolved--a millions years ago or less (some Gilia, Madia, Hemizonia, Clarkia). Introduced Plants Rare and Endangered Species

Taxa: including subspecies and varieties. CNPS has the 8th Edition, released in 2010, as the current database.