Erysimum teretifolium

taxobox
name = "Erysimum teretifolium"
status = EN
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Brassicales
familia = Brassicaceae
genus = "Erysimum"
species = "E. teretifolium"
binomial = "Erysimum teretifolium"
binomial_authority = Eastw.|

"Erysimum teretifolium" is a species of wallflower known by the common names Santa Cruz wallflower and Ben Lomond wallflower. It is a very rare plant endemic to Santa Cruz County, California, where it grows on inland sand spits, chaparral, and sandstone deposits in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains. It is a California state and federally listed endangered species. This plant is a biennial or perennial herb with one or more unbranched erect dark reddish-purple stems reaching anywhere from 15 centimeters to nearly a meter in height. There are a few straight, somewhat toothed, dark greenish leaves along the stems. At the tops of the stems are thin clusters of flowers with rounded bright to dark yellow or orangish petals, each one or two centimeters long. The flowers drop to leave long, flat fruits which are siliques up to 15 centimeters long, sticking out from the stem. The plant is mainly threatened by coastal and inland development in the area and mining of the sand it lives in. Fire suppression has also altered the habitat to the detriment of the plant; leaf and needle litter builds up while the plant requires stretches of open sand.

External links

* [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?2240,2463,2482 Jepson Manual Treatment]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ERTE14 USDA Plants Profile]
* [http://www.elkhornsloughctp.org/factsheet/factsheet.php?SPECIES_ID=59 Local Endangered Species Fact Sheet]
* [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Erysimum+teretifolium Photo gallery]