Arctostaphylos franciscana

Franciscan manzanita

Possibly Extinct  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Arctostaphylos
Species:
A. franciscana
Binomial name
Arctostaphylos franciscana
Synonyms
  • Arctostaphylos hookeri subsp. franciscana (Eastw.) Munz
  • Arctostaphylos uva-ursi var. franciscana (Eastw.) Roof
  • Uva-ursi franciscana (Eastw.) A.Heller

Arctostaphylos franciscana, known by the common name Franciscan manzanita, is a species of manzanita. It was named by Alice Eastwood and is native to the city of San Francisco.[2]

Taxonomy

Franciscan manzanita was formerly considered as a subspecies of Hooker's manzanita until elevated to full species rank following modern genetic analysis and comparisons.[3]

Conservation

When the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco was bulldozed in 1947, it was thought that the Arctostaphylos franciscana went extinct.[4][5] In 2009, one wild specimen of the shrub was discovered in the Presidio by a local conservationist.[6][7] The land the plant was found on was part of the Caltrans Doyle Drive Replacement Project and was not protected, which prompted litigation.[8] The single shrub found was moved and was used to try to reproduce the species.[8]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Franciscan manzanita as an endangered species on October 5, 2012.[9][10][11] The National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy are attempting to cross-pollinate and propagate the preserved specimen in order to reintroduce the subspecies in the wild.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
  2. ^ Milius, Susan (5 November 2020). "How passion, luck and sweat saved some of North America's rarest plants". ScienceNews. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. ^ Parker, V. Thomas; Vasey, Michael C.; Keeley, Jon E. (2007). "Taxonomic Revisions in the Genus Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae)". Madroño. 54 (2): 148–155. doi:10.3120/0024-9637(2007)54[148:TRITGA]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 41425696. S2CID 43442173.
  4. ^ Fimrite, Peter (2011-09-08). "Feds move to protect one-of-a-kind S.F. bush". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  5. ^ Eaton, Joe; Sullivan, Ron (2010-10-10). "Reclaiming Laurel Hill Park for native plants". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  6. ^ Ishimaru, Heather (November 18, 2009). "Protected plant may delay Doyle Drive project". ABC 7. Archived from the original on November 25, 2009.
  7. ^ Fimrite, Peter (December 26, 2009). "Manzanita bush's discovery excites scientists". SFGate.
  8. ^ a b Fimrite, Peter (2011-06-15). "Suit faults U.S. for not protecting S.F. manzanita". SFGATE. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  9. ^ La Ganga, Maria (4 September 2012). "Franciscan manzanita added to U.S. endangered list". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Species profile for Franciscan manzanita". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  11. ^ Fimrite, Peter (2012-09-05). "Rare S.F. bush gets federal protection". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  12. ^ Gribbon, Sadie (February 15, 2018). "Presidio's 'Loneliest plant in the world' meets its match". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  13. ^ Renault, Marion (2020-10-16). "How Many Plants Have We Wiped Out? Here Are 5 Extinction Stories". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-19.


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