National Collection of Imperiled Plants

CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Photographer:

Dieter Wilken

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Pogogyne clareana

Family:	Lamiaceae
Common Names:	Santa Lucia mint, Santa Lucia pogogyne
Author:	J.T. Howell
Growth Habit:	Forb/herb
CPC Number:	3552

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: Dieter Wilken
dwilken[at]sbbg.org

Pogogyne clareana is Not Sponsored

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

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

Dieter Wilken, Ph.D. contributed to this Plant Profile.

Pogogyne clareana

Santa Lucia mint is a delicate, strongly scented annual up to 40 cm tall with dense terminal clusters of deep pink flowers 10-15 mm long. It occurs along small ephemeral streams and in vernal pools. It was listed as Endangered by the State of California in 1979, based on reports of a few thousand individuals and a few occurrences. Surveys conducted by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden provided the first accurate census for this species, raising the number of known occurrences to over 50, of which 9 supported populations with 10,000 to over 50,000 individuals. Nevertheless, several populations occur near dirt roads, and are vulnerable to dust during the flowering season, erosion, and to compaction from vehicles. Disruption of drainage systems also represent a potential threat to some populations.

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

California

Habitat

Sunny, sandy to gravelly banks of winter-wet, summer-dry stream banks and vernal pools, often in mixed oak woodland. Common associates include Muhlenbergia rigens (deer grass), Juncus, Eleocharis, Epilobium densiflorum, Hordeum brachyantherum, and other riparian herbs.

Distribution

Los Bueyes, Los Burros, North Fork, and Steve Creeks, Santa Lucia Mountains, Monterey County, California.

Number Left

At least 53 occurrences have been documented, of which about 20 have from 10 to 1000 individuals in an average year. Another 30 occurrences support colonies greater than 1000 each, of which at least 9 sites have between 10,000 to over 50,000 plants per year.

Protection

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Global Rank:	G1	11/4/1997	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	SC	1/19/1996	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	No

State/Area Protection

	State/Area	Rank	Status	Date
	California	S1.2	1

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

Germination takes place during the late winter to early spring, followed by active growth and flowering in the late spring, once water levels subside.
� Flowering usually takes place for about 2 weeks during June. Flowers are actively visited by small bumblebees and sweat bees (Wilken pers. obs.) Each flower, however, produces only 1 seed.
� Seeds apparently possess a physiological dormancy that lasts about 4-6 months, depending on temperature.

Threats

� Compaction by off-road recreational vehicles during the short period of flowering.
� Potential modification or disruption of drainages during road maintenance.
� Dust from vehicular traffic on roads immediately adjacent to some populations.

Current Research Summary

Seed storage and germination protocols have been established by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Current Management Summary

Pogogyne clareana occurs entirely on Fort Hunter Liggett, a military training facility managed by the US Army. Access to areas with suitable habitats is restricted to security patrols, for purposes of fire management and occasional recreational activities. (Wilken 2000)

Research Management Needs

� Genetic analysis within and among populations.
� Studies of breeding system, dispersal, and ecological requirements to assess the limits of distribution.

Ex Situ Needs

Additional collections of seeds representing the entire geographic distribution.

References

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Books (Single Authors)

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.

Electronic Sources

CalPhotos. (2002). CalPhotos: Berkely Digital Library Project. University of California, Berkeley. http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/. Accessed: 2002.

CDFG. (2002). California's Plants and Animals, Threatened and Endangered Plants. List and Species Accounts. California Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Conservation Planning Branch. http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/species/t_e_spp/teplant/teplanta.shtml. Accessed: 2002.

Journal Articles

Howell, J. 1973. A new Pogogyne. The Four Seasons. 4, 3: 22.

Reports

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.

Wilken, D. 2000. Rare plant survey at Fort Hunter Liggett: Technical Report No. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. p.35 + appendices.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010