Template:Especies-2019-05

Endangered species of the month

Chinese Camp Brodiaea

Brodiaea pallida Hoover, Leafl. W. Bot. 2(8): 129–130. 1938.

Some facts about this species:

Description: Brodiaea pallida is a perennial producing an inflorescence up to about 20 centimeters tall bearing pale purple flowers on short pedicels. Flowering occurs in late May and early June.

Habitat: The plants grow in inland wetlands, intermittent streams, overflow channels, and springs with rainfall dependent hydrology.

Distribution: This species is endemic to the United States of America, known only from three localities in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California.

Threats: This species is mainly threatened by construction and urban development. Another possible threat is the combination of invasive species with deposition of nitrogen from air pollution. At least two of the three known localities of this species contain non-native plants, which can became highly invasive due to the increase of nitrogen in the area, reducing the suitable areas for this native plant and its pollinators. Another possible threat is the hybridization with Brodiaea elegans.

Surviving number: The number of individuals was never counted for the entire species, but it is estimated that it varies between 7,500 and 24,500.

Conservation status: Endangered (IUCN 3.1), assessed September 28, 2016. Its extent of occurrence has been estimated as 60 km², falling within the IUCN "Critically Endangered" threshold, but since it is known from three locations it is instead assessed as "Endangered".

First described: 1938 by the U.S. botanist Robert Francis Hoover in Leaflets of Western Botany 2(8): 129–130.