National Collection of Imperiled Plants

CPC National Collection Plant Profile

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Veva Stansell

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Arabis mcdonaldiana

Family:	Brassicaceae
Common Names:	McDonald's rock cress, Red Mountain rock cress
Author:	Eastw.
Growth Habit:	Forb/herb
CPC Number:	182

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: Veva Stansell

Arabis mcdonaldiana is Not Sponsored

Primary custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants is:

Rae Selling Berry Seed Bank & Plant Conservation Program

Edward Guerrant, Ph.D. contributed to this Plant Profile.

Arabis mcdonaldiana

The small crimson to purple flowers of Arabis macdonaldiana are both beautiful and fragrant (Eastwood 1903). This interesting little plant was discovered in northern Mendocino County, California in 1902, and described as a distinct species the following year. Its discoverer was Alice Eastwood, one of the earliest and most well known female botanists. It was not identified in Oregon until 1980, a year after its listing as endangered with the Fish and Wildlife Service (Meinke 1982).

Arabis macdonaldiana was the second plant species to be listed as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (September 1978). As the time of listing, only one population of A. macdonaldiana was known, and it was in imminent danger of being destroyed by nickel mining. Today, because of the discovery of additional populations in California and Oregon as well as some complex taxonomic changes, there are many populations of A. macdonaldiana known. Despite the fact that there are many more populations known than when it was originally listed, the species is still in grave danger. The large number of populations may make the species eligible for down-listing or de-listing. This may sound like a great accomplishment. However, populations are still small and still at great risk from mining activities and other human caused disturbances. As many of the known sites are on National Forest land, their listing as Endangered by the Fish and Wildlife Service is one of few protective measures keeping nickel mining from destroying them and their habitat.

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

California
Oregon

Habitat

Serpentine barren habitat, usually on steep unstable slopes or dry open woods below 4900 ft (1500m). Most areas are recently disturbed, exposing less weathered serpentine soil. Canopy cover is generally less than 3%.

Distribution

CA, OR

Ranges: CA: NcoRO (Klamath -Siskiyou Region)
OR: Klamath Mountains

Number Left

In Oregon, 2(?) extant populations with few individuals (ONHDB 2000). In California, 29 sites "presumed extant" with numbers ranging from "a few" to approximately 5,000 (CNDDB 2000). Many sites have not been surveyed since the mid 1980's, so numbers may not be accurate, and many sites that were reported as declining may in fact have been extirpated by now.

Protection

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Global Rank:	G2	1/12/2006	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:		9/28/1978	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	Yes	2/28/1984

State/Area Protection

State/Area	Rank	Status	Date
California	S2.1	E	7/1/1979
Oregon	S1		2/1/2001

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

Arabis macdonaldiana is found primarily on serpentine soils, which are high in many toxic metals, including: copper, chromium and nickel. It may thrive in these areas because of the limited competition that this harsh environment offers, or it may be adapted to the soil chemistry of the freshly exposed serpentine soil (Daniel and Fox, 1999). Arabis macdonaldiana is found on newly exposed serpentine soil as opposed to soil that has had time to weather.

Serpentine barren habitat supports a great variety of endemic plants, many of which are sensitive or rare (in Daniel and Fox 1999). Serpentine soil is also heavily mined because of high concentrations of useful metals. Mining doesn't just destroy the land and the plants that inhabit the land. Due to the looming threat of a mining project, American Rivers has named Rough and Ready Creek to the list of North America's Most Threatened and Endangered Rivers.

Threats

� Slope erosion, road maintenance, and logging.
� Succession
� Proposed construction and mining for nickel (Nicore Corporation) 1997/98/99
� Over-collection (Meinke 1982)
� Off-road vehicle use

Current Research Summary

� Germination studies at the Berry Botanic Garden. Both 8 weeks of cold stratification followed by 68�F (20�C) and direct 68�F (20�C) treatments resulted in 100% germination (BBG file).
� Taxonomic studies to investigate the relationship between California and Oregon populations. Results not published as of 2001 (Linda Ann Vorobik-UC Berkeley).
� Determination and search for potential habitat using Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery to locate serpentine barren habitat (Daniel and Fox 1999).

Current Management Summary

� One population is located on land designated as a "Botanical Wayside". The area was established in 1938 to serve as an interpretive and educational resource for local agencies, organizations, and schools
(CaveJunction.Com 2002).
� Seeds stored in BBG seed bank from collections in 1987 and 1989. All collections are from Mendocino and Del Norte Counties in California. No seeds are stored from Oregon populations. All collections are bulked- there is no separation of maternal lines (BBG File)
� Known Oregon sites are on National Forest Land.

Research Management Needs

� Search for additional populations in Oregon and California (Meinke 1982)
� Protect any newly discovered populations (Meinke 1982)
� Limit land access and use (Daniel and Fox 1999).
� Determine soil variables associated with A. macdonaldiana presence (Daniel and Fox 1999)
� Determine how variables such as percent moss cover, percent rock, or microposition are correlated to species' occurrence (Daniel and Fox 1999).
� Determine how tree, shrub, herb or grass cover correlate with presence of species (Daniel and Fox 1999).

Ex Situ Needs

� Collect and store seeds from representative populations in both Oregon and California. Keep maternal lines separate during collection.
� Determine propagation and reintroduction protocols.

References

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Books (Single Authors)

Meinke, R.J. 1982. Threatened and Endangered Vascular Plants of Oregon: An Illustrated Guide. Portland, Oregon: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 1. 326p.

Munz, P.A.; Keck, D.D. 1959. A California flora. Berkeley, CA: Univ. California Press. 1681p.

Nakamura, Gary; Kierstead Nelson, J. 2001. Illustrated Field Guide to Selected Rare Plants of Northern California. University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources. Publication 3395. 370p.

ONHP. 2001. Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon.

Skinner, M.W.; Pavlik, B.M. 1997. Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California: Electronic Inventory Update of 1994, 5th edition. Sacramento: California Native Plant Society.

Books (Sections)

Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. In: Kartesz, J.T.; Meacham, C.A., editors. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel Hill, NC.

Books (Edited Volumes)

James C. Hickman, Editor. 1993 The Jepson manual: Higher plants of California. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1400p.

Electronic Sources

(2000). CalFlora: on California plants for education, research and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: The CalFlora Database [a non-profit organization]. http://www.calflora.org/.. Accessed: 2002.

(2002). Sierra Club and background on Nicore mining operation in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. [Web site] Rogue Group: Sierra Club. http://spiritone.com/~orsierra/rogue/issues/kalnicdx.htm .. Accessed: 2002.

CaveJunction.Com. (2002). Points of Interest: Rough & Ready Botanical Wayside. [Web site] http://www.cavejunction.com/cavejunction/points.html. Accessed: 2002.

CDFG. (2001). Special Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Lichens List. Biannual Publication, Mimeo. 141 pp. California Department of Fish and Game, Natural Diversity Database. Accessed: 2001.

CNDDB. (2000). Calfornia Natural Diversity Data Base (CNDDB). Version 2.1.2. California Natural Diversity Database. Accessed: California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento.

ONHDB. (2000). Oregon Natural Heritage Program Database. Portland, Oregon.

Journal Articles

Daniel, S.L.; Fox, L. 1999. Landsat-derived serpentine barren classification for locating McDonald's rock cress (Arabis macdonaldiana). Natural Areas Journal. 19, 4: 351-360.

Eastwood, A. 1903. New Species of Western Plants (Original Publication). Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 30: page 488.

Rollins, R.C. 1973. Purple flowered Arabis of the Pacific coast of North America. Contributions to the Gray Herbarium. 204: 149-154.

USFWS. 1976. Proposed Endangered Status for 1700 U.S. Plants. Federal Register. 41: 24523-24572.

USFWS. 1978. Determination of five plants as endangered species. Federal Register. 43, 189: 44810-44812.

USFWS. 1978. Final Rulemakings: Five Western Plants Listed as Endangered. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 3, 10: 10.

USFWS. 1984. Regional Briefs. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 9, 7: 2, 6.

Reports

2000. A Preliminary Proposal for Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Monument. p.13.

Goforth, D. 1982. The Taxonomy and Ecology of the Arabis macdonaldiana Complex of Northwestern California and Southwestern Oregon. Draft Final Report. Eureka, California: Six Rivers National Forest. p.90. Progress Report.

Sanguamphai. 1989. 1988 Annual Report on the Status of California's State Listed Threatened and Endangered Plants and Animals. State of California, Department of Fish and Game.

USFWS. 1990. McDonald's Rock-cress, (Arabis macdonaldiana Eastwood), Recovery Plan. Portland, Oregon: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p.40.

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This profile was updated on 7/8/2010