Brodiaea santarosae is a rare Brodiaea

Brodiaea

Brodiaea is a monocot genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Brodiaeoideae, also known by the common name cluster-lilies...

species known by the common name Santa Rosa brodiaea and Santa Rosa Basalt brodiaea. It is endemic to southern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, mostly in the region around the junction of Orange

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

, Riverside

Riverside County, California

Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...

, and San Diego Counties

San Diego County, California

San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...

 and limited to ancient basaltic soils. There are only five known populations. It was once thought to be an intergrade of Brodiaea filifolia

Brodiaea filifolia

Brodiaea filifolia is a rare species of flowering plant in the cluster-lily genus known by the common name threadleaf brodiaea. It is endemic to southern California, mostly in the region around the junction of Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, where it is a resident of scattered remaining...

and B. orcuttii

Brodiaea orcuttii

Brodiaea orcuttii is a species of flowering plant in the cluster-lily genus known by the common name Orcutt's brodiaea. It is native to southern California, mainly San Diego County, where it is an uncommon species. Its range probably extends into Baja California...

, but measurements found this to be false. It was described as a new species in 2007.

It is on the California Native Plant Society list 3 as a rare and endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

. It is a perennial producing an inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

  bearing bright purple flowers. Each flower has six spreading tepal

Tepal

Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...

s with a center containing three stamen

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s and narrow or small staminode

Staminode

In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen. This means that it does not produce pollen. Staminodes are frequently inconspicuous and stamen-like, usually occurring at the inner whorl of the flower, but are also sometimes long enough to protrude from the...

s, which are flat sterile stamens lying against the tepals.

External links

• Salmon, R. Volunteers find new flower species at reserve. Press Enterprise November 19, 2007.
• Jepson Manual Treatment
• Photo gallery