California Floristic Province
Encyclopedia
The California Floristic Province (CFP) is a floristic province
Floristic province
A phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phytochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both regions overlap...
with a Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
located on the Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with a distinctive flora that bears similarities to floras found in other regions experiencing a winter rainfall, summer drought climate like the Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
.
It belongs to the Madrean Region
Madrean Region
The Madrean Region is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in North America, as delineated by Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne...
of the Holarctic Kingdom.
With an area of 293,804 km², as defined by Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
, it includes 70% of 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...
and extends into southwestern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, a small part of western Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and northern Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. The province is bordered by the Rocky Mountain Region
Rocky Mountain Region
The Rocky Mountain Floristic Region, also known as the Rocky Mountain Floristic Province, is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in western North America delineated by Armen Takhtajan and Robert F...
in the north. The boundary is vague and is not well-defined. Many leading geobotanists, including Robert F. Thorne (Flora of North America
Flora of North America
The Flora of North America North of Mexico is a multivolume work describing the native plants of North America. These days much of the Flora is available . The work is expected to fill 30 volumes when completed...
) and Armen Takhtajan
Armen Takhtajan
Armen Leonovich Takhtajan or Takhtajian , was a Soviet-Armenian botanist, one of the most important figures in 20th century plant evolution and systematics and biogeography. His other interests included morphology of flowering plants, paleobotany, and the flora of the Caucasus...
, include Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
within the Rocky Mountain Province.
The California Floristic Province is a world biodiversity hotspot
Biodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” , revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in...
as defined by Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
, due to an unusually high concentration of endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
plants: approximately 8,000 plant species in the geographic region, and over 3,400 taxa limited to the CFP proper, as well as having lost over 70% of its primary vegetation.
Climate and topography
The California Floristic Province is one of the five biodiversity hotspots with Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
s, and it is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Many parts of the coastal areas of this hotspot, being moderated by the ocean, experience cool summers due to the regular occurrence of ocean fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
. This fog sustains Redwood
Redwood
-Trees:Conifers* Family Cupressaceae *** Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood**** Albino redwood*** Sequoiadendron giganteum - giant sequoia*** Metasequoia glyptostroboides - dawn redwood* Family Pinaceae...
forests as well as many other habitats.
In California, the province includes most of the state excluding the Modoc Plateau
Modoc Plateau
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. It is a mile-high expanse of lava flows with cinder cones, juniper flats, pine forests, and seasonal lakes. The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago...
, Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
and desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s in the southeastern part of the state. In Oregon, the province includes the coastal mountains south of Cape Blanco
Cape Blanco (Oregon)
Cape Blanco is a prominent headland on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States, forming the westernmost point in the state. It contests with Cape Alava in Washington for the title of westernmost point in the contiguous United States...
and most of the Rogue River
Rogue River (Oregon)
The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
In Baja California, the province includes the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
and chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
belts of the Sierra Juarez
Sierra Juárez
Sierra de Juárez is a mountain range on the Baja California Peninsula, of Baja California, Mexico. It is part of the Peninsular Ranges. The Laguna Mountains of California lie to the north and the Sierra San Pedro Mártir lies to the south....
and the Sierra San Pedro Martir
Sierra San Pedro Mártir
Sierra de San Pedro Mártir is a mountain range that is one of the Peninsular Ranges of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. At , the highest peak is the Picacho del Diablo, also known as Cerro de la Encantada or Picacho la Providencia...
(but excluding their desert slopes to the east), coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al areas south to about El Rosario
El Rosario
El Rosario may refer to:*El Rosario, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands*El Rosario, Morazán, El Salvador*El Rosario, a lake located in El Rosario National Park in Guatemala*El Rosario, Baja California, Mexico*El Rosario, Michoacán, Mexico...
, and Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...
.
In Nevada, the CFP includes the region of the Sierra in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
, with the eastern border with the Great Basin corresponding roughly to the location of Reno-Carson City.
Parts of the following mountain ranges are included in the province:
- The Klamath MountainsKlamath MountainsThe Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
- The Cascade RangeCascade RangeThe Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
- The Coast RangesCoast Ranges (California)The Coast Ranges of California constitute one of the eleven traditional geomorphic provinces of California. They include several but not all mountain ranges along the California coast...
- The Sierra Nevada
- The Transverse RangesTransverse RangesThe Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
- The Peninsular rangesPeninsular RangesThe Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...
south into Baja California
The Great Central Valley is also within the CFP.
California Plant Communities
Numerous plant communities exist in California and botanists have attempted to structure them into identifiable vegetation types groupings. Robert Ornduff and colleagues Phyllis M. Faber and Todd Keeler-Wolf did much work on this problem, and in the 2003 Natural History Guide Introduction to California Plant Life established a cohesive set of titles to identify California plant communities based on but somewhat different from those earlier established by California botanist Philip A. MunzPhilip A. Munz
Philip A. Munz, botanist, taxonomist and educator , of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, was Professor of Botany at Pomona College, serving as Dean for three years....
.
Broken into three large groupings based on geography, the Ornduff scheme includes:
the Cismontane ("this side of the mountain") west of the Sierra Nevada or San Jacinto Mountains
San Jacinto Mountains
The San Jacinto Mountains are a mountain range east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mountains are named for Saint Hyacinth . The Pacific Crest Trail runs along the spine of the range.The range extends for approximately from the San Bernardino Mountains southeast to...
, or North of the Transverse Ranges
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
, Montane, and Transmontane ("the other side of the mountain"), in the rainshadow of these ranges, typically desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
.
Cismontane region
- Coastal StrandCoastal StrandCoastal Strand is a term used to describe a plant community of flowering plants that form along the shore in loose sand just above the high tide line, the on West Coast of the United States.Many plants that grow in this area are endemic to the strand...
(same in Munz) - Coastal PrairieCalifornia coastal prairieCalifornia coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome...
(same in Munz) - Coastal Salt MarshCalifornia coastal salt marshCalifornia's coastal salt marsh is a wetland Plant community that occurs sporadically along the Pacific coast from Humboldt Bay to San Diego. This salt marsh type is found in bays, harbors, inlets and other protected areas subject to tidal flooding....
(same in Munz) - ChaparralChaparralChaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
(Hard Chaparral) (same in Munz) - Closed-Cone Pine ForestClosed-cone pine forestClosed-cone pine forest is a plant community of coastal California and several offshore islands. It consists of stands of Bishop Pines, Monterey Pines, and others which rely on fire or strong heat to open their cones and release the seeds.-Closed-cone Pines:...
(same in Munz) - Coastal Sage ScrubCoastal sage scrubCoastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the...
(Soft Chapparal) (same in Munz) - Freshwater MarshFreshwater marshA freshwater marsh is a marsh that contains fresh water. They are usually found near the mouths of rivers and are present in areas with low drainage. The Florida Everglades, the largest freshwater marsh in the United States, are an example of this type of marsh....
(same in Munz) - Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forestsMaritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forestsMaritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests are rare temperate forest assemblages associated with a limited range portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains of northern California. There are only three known small forests of this type, all situated in Santa Cruz County, California...
- Montane Chaparral (not in Munz)
- North Coastal Forest (includes North Coastal Coniferous Forest, Redwood Forest, Douglas-fir Forest and Mixed Evergreen Forest (from Munz)
- Northern Coastal ScrubNorthern coastal scrubNorthern coastal scrub is a scrubland plant community of California and Oregon. It occurs along the Pacific Coast from Point Sur on the Central California coast in Monterey County, California, to southern Oregon...
(same in Munz) - Riparian Woodland (same in Munz)
- Valley and Foothill WoodlandCalifornia oak woodlandCalifornia oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
(includes Northern, Southern Oak Woodland, Foothill Woodland) - Valley Grassland (same in Munz)
Montane region
- Montane Coniferous Forest (Yellow Pine in Munz)
- Montane Chaparral (not in Munz)
- Subalpine ForestSierra Nevada subalpine zoneThe Sierra Nevada subalpine zone refers to a biotic zone below treeline in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, United States. This subalpine zone is positioned between the upper montane zone at its lower limit, and tree line at its upper limit.The Sierra Nevada subalpine zone occurs...
(Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Pine Forest, Bristlecone Pine and Subalpine Forest) - Montane Meadow (not in Munz)
- Alpine Fell-field (same in Munz)
Transmontane region
- Pinyon-Juniper WoodlandPinyon-juniper woodlandA Pinyon-juniper woodland is a forest type characteristic of many parts the Western United States, often in higher elevations of desert ecoregions.-Locations:...
(Includes Northern Juniper Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (both in Munz)) - SagebrushArtemisia tridentataArtemisia tridentata is a shrub or small tree from the family Asteraceae. Some botanists treat it in the segregate genus Seriphidium, as S. tridentatum W. A. Weber, but this is not widely followed...
Scrub (same in Munz) - Shadscale Scrub (same in Munz)
- Alkali Sink Scrub (same in Munz)
- Joshua Tree Woodland (same in Munz)
- Creosote Bush Woodland (same in Munz)
Endemic species and ecosystems
The hotspot presents a higher level of endemism in plants than in animals. Of the 7,031 vascular plantVascular plant
Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
s (species, subspecies or varieties) found in the hotspot, 2,153 taxa (in 25 genera) are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else. About 80,000 km², or 24.7% of the original vegetation remains in relatively pristine conditions today.
The six largest plant families in California by number of species (40% of all species of vascular plants) are:
- AsteraceaeAsteraceaeThe Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
- PoaceaePoaceaeThe Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
- FabaceaeFabaceaeThe Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
- ScrophulariaceaeScrophulariaceaeScrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
- BrassicaceaeBrassicaceaeBrassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
- CyperaceaeCyperaceaeCyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
The province notably has giant sequoia forests, California oak woodland
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
s (All native oaks in this ecosystem are endemic) and redwood
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
forests. Other ecosystems include sagebrush steppes
Artemisia tridentata
Artemisia tridentata is a shrub or small tree from the family Asteraceae. Some botanists treat it in the segregate genus Seriphidium, as S. tridentatum W. A. Weber, but this is not widely followed...
, prickly pear shrublands
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
, coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the...
, chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, juniper-pine woodland, upper montane-subalpine forests, alpine
Alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in the alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. Alpine plants grow together as a plant community in alpine tundra.-Alpine plant diversity:...
forests, riparian forests, cypress forests
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
, mixed evergreen forests, and Douglas fir forests, coastal dunes, mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s and salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es.
A few examples of plants that are endemic to the province and are also 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...
are:
- Baker's larkspurBaker's larkspurBaker's larkspur is a perennial herb in the buttercup family . It is endemic to California in the United States, where it is a federally listed endangered species...
- Gowen cypress
- Hickman's potentillaHickman's potentillaPotentilla hickmanii is an endangered perennial herb of the rose family. This rare plant species is found in a narrowly restricted range in two locations in coastal northern California, in Monterey County, and in very small colonies in San Mateo County...
- Point Reyes bird's beak
- Santa Cruz Tarplant
- Santa Rosa Island Manzanita
Threatened and endangered
Agriculture and urban expansion are encroaching upon remaining habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s in the California Floristic Province. Commercial farming in the region generates half of all agricultural products consumed by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
population. Other threats include invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
colonisation, air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
, soil contamination
Soil contamination
Soil contamination or soil pollution is caused by the presence of xenobiotic chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment....
, wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s (excessive heat or frequency types), and construction of building developments and roads. Global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
presents future threats.
Further reading
- Ornduff, R., Faber, P. M. & Keeler-Wolf, T. 2003. Introduction to California Plant Life. Revised edition. University of California Press
- California Floristic Province, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- California Floristic Province, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation International