Nolina interrata

Nolina interrata is a rare species of flowering plant known by the common names Dehesa nolina and Dehesa beargrass. It is known from about ten occurrences in central San Diego County, California, and fewer than 100 individual plants on land across the border in Baja California.[2] The plant was first described in 1946 when found at the type locality near El Cajon, California, and all the individuals known in California are located within a six-square-mile area there.[3] Although rare, numbering about 9,000 plants total in existence, the species is relatively well protected in its habitat and a proposal for federal protected status was withdrawn.[3]

Nolina interrata

Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Nolina
Species:
N. interrata
Binomial name
Nolina interrata

This plant produces a branching stem, part of which grows underground, lined with rosettes of stiff, waxy, blue-green leaves, up to 45 per rosette. The leaves are thick and somewhat fleshy at the bases, and shreddy and serrated along the edges. The erect inflorescence may be up to 1.6 meters tall, bearing branches lined with tiny flowers each with six whitish tepals a few millimeters long. The fruit is a papery capsule containing reddish brown seeds about half a centimeter wide.

References
  1. "Nolina interrata". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  2. California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
  3. USFWS. Withdrawal of proposed rule to list Nolina interrata (Dehesa beargrass) as threatened. Federal Register October 13, 1998.


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