Hazardia cana
Encyclopedia
Hazardia cana is a rare species of shrub
in the daisy family
known by the common name San Clemente Island hazardia, or simply island hazardia. It is native to San Clemente Island
, one of the Channel Islands of California
, and Guadalupe Island
off Baja California
. This is a bushy shrub reaching one half to two meters in height. It has woolly, glandular herbage of oblong, sometimes finely toothed leaves 4 to 12 centimeters long. At the ends of its grayish stems it produces cylindrical flower heads
. Each flower head has several rows of dark-colored phyllaries
and an open end revealing disc florets and longer protruding ray florets. The florets are yellow and may age to red or purple. The main threat to this species on San Clemente Island was the presence of feral goat
s. The goats were removed from the island and the plant is recovering.
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
in the daisy family
Asteraceae
The 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...
known by the common name San Clemente Island hazardia, or simply island hazardia. It is native to San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
, one of the Channel Islands of California
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
, 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...
off 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...
. This is a bushy shrub reaching one half to two meters in height. It has woolly, glandular herbage of oblong, sometimes finely toothed leaves 4 to 12 centimeters long. At the ends of its grayish stems it produces cylindrical flower heads
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
. Each flower head has several rows of dark-colored phyllaries
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
and an open end revealing disc florets and longer protruding ray florets. The florets are yellow and may age to red or purple. The main threat to this species on San Clemente Island was the presence of feral goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s. The goats were removed from the island and the plant is recovering.