Chaparral Nolina, Nolina cismontana

About Chaparral Nolina (Nolina cismontana) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Nolina cismontana, the chaparral beargrass, chaparral nolina, California beargrass, Peninsular beargrass, or peninsular nolina, is a rare species of flowering plant of the Peninsular and Transverse Ranges in California. It is endemic to (known from) only four counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura Counties. There are perhaps 15 to 17 occurrences in existence, with a total population estimated between 10,000 and 20,000. This species, previously classified as a subspecies of Nolina parryi, was elevated to species status in 1995. The type specimen is from Trabuco Canyon. The two species differ in morphology as well as habitat and ecology. Nolina cismontana occurs in coastal mountain ranges in dry chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitat on rocky sandstone and gabbro substrates. By contrast, N. parryi is more often found in woodlands on granite soils. The plant is in decline throughout most of its range. Threats include destruction and fragmentation of habitat for development, construction of roads, and agriculture, changes in the fire regime, recreational activity, and non-native species. This species is a "fire-follower", experiencing reproduction and prolific blooming after wildfire. Nolina cismontana grows to 30 centimetres (0. 98 ft) in height but can be much taller, reaching well over 1 metre (3. 3 ft). At ground level is a rosette of 30 to 90 long, narrow leaves which measure up to 140 centimetres (4. 6 ft) long by 3 centimetres (0. 098 ft) wide with a widening at the bases. They are stiff, whiplike, or limp, sometimes waxy in texture, and serrated on the edges. The inflorescence is a compound panicle of whitish flowers interspersed with pointed bracts. The plant is dioecious, with male and female flowers occurring on separate plants.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Grasses

Size

11.8 in tall

Flower Color

Cream, White

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinusStrymon melinus

Sosipatra rileyellaSosipatra rileyella

Landscaping Information

Nurseries

Carried by 3

Natural Setting

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 13.7" - 29.1", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 0.88", Coldest Month: 45.8" - 54.4", Hottest Month: 72.3" - 78.6", Humidity: 2.02" - 24.63", Elevation: 326" - 4122"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Peninsular Beargrass

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Chaparral Nolina

Nolina cismontana

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Chaparral NolinaNolina cismontana

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Chaparral Nolina

Nolina cismontana