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Lasthenia conjugens
Lasthenia conjugens, commonly known as Contra Costa goldfields, is an endangered species of wildflower endemic to a limited range within the San Francisco Bay Area of the state of California, USA. Specifically this rare species occurs in Napa, Santa Barbara, Solano, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Monterey and Alameda Counties. This annual herb typically flowers from March through June, and its colonies grow in vernal pool habitats at elevations not exceeding 100 meters above sea level. The Jepson Manual notes that the present distribution is limited to the deltaic Sacramento Valley, principally Napa and Solano Counties, but the historic range of L. conjugens is known to be significantly wider. In any case, historically the range has included parts of the North Coast, Sacramento Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area as well as the South Coast.
Lasthenia conjugens relies upon insect pollination for fertilization, and dispersal of seed is largely by gravity. In undisturbed habitats, this and other species of Lasthenia are pollinated by specialist bee species, primarily in the genus Andrena. Studies in Solano County natural and restoration habitats have shown variability between visitation rates to the two types of colonies; however, plant propagation rates were found to be similar between natural colonies and introduced ones, implying pollination is not a limiting factor of propagation. An alternative conclusion is that members of one particular insect family, Sciaridae, are also efficient pollinators of L. conjugens, since it was the only insect family to visit the restoration colonies in significant numbers (the specialist bees are absent from these areas).
Burke's baeria · California goldfields · Alkalisink goldfields · Royal goldfields · Ferris' goldfields · Fremont's goldfields · Smooth goldfields · Yellowray goldfields · Needle goldfields · Ranca · Seaside goldfields · Smallray goldfields
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lasthenia conjugens by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
