endemic to the state. The genera with the largest number of en- 

 demic species are Mimulus (monkey flowers), Astragalus (loco- 

 weeds), Lupinus (lupines), Eriogonum (wild buckwheats), Arc- 

 tostaphylos (manzanitas), and Ceanothus (wild lilacs, etc.). Most 

 of the genera on this list are also on the list of the largest genera 

 in the state. 



Some endemics in the California Floristic Province are wide- 

 spread and are rather well known. Perhaps the most famous 

 endemic of the province is Coast Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. 

 Because of the measures that have been taken to preserve this 

 tree, the Coast Redwood has been saved from extinction, large 

 tracts of this species having been set aside for perpetuity. How- 

 ever, a number of other less spectacular endemics are faced with 

 extinction and some plant species have already become extinct 

 due to man's activity. In the San Francisco Bay region, for exam- 

 ple, there is an endemic species of the very small composite genus 

 Blennosperma. This is Blennosperma bakeri, a species whose 

 entire range is within and next to the town of Sonoma. Blenno- 

 sperma bakeri is an attractive small annual related to the more 

 widespread B. nanum, it was first described in 1941 . At the time 

 of writing, the range ofB. bakeri consists of one small popula- 

 tion surrounded by houses inside the limits of the city of Sonoma 

 plus a second, somewhat larger population at the edge of town. 

 It is almost certain that within the next few years this species 

 will become extinct in the wild, since its habitat will become 

 suburbanized. 



Another endemic in the San Francisco Bay area is a member 

 of the fiddleneck genus Amsinckia (Boraginaceae). Some species 

 of this genus are widespread and somewhat weedy, but the 

 attractive, large-flowered yl. grandiflora is now known to occur 

 in only a single, rather small population that is located within 

 the fences of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory installation 

 near Livermore. Also in northern CaHfornia, the attractive 

 Fremontodendron califomicum subsp. decumbens is known only 

 from a population of 15 individuals at Pine Hill, Eldorado Coun- 

 ty (Plate IB). Iris munzii (Plate IC) occurs along the Tule River, 

 Tulare County. In southern California, a relative of the Mountain 

 Mahogany is known only as six or seven survivors on Santa Cata- 



18 



