What is the rarest flower we have here in the regional parks?
– Rosie Andres, Berkeley, Ca Rosie – We estimate to have 150 different species of wildflowers here in the East Bay Regional Parks. However, one of the rarest of them all is the Presidio clarkia (Clarkia franciscana). This federally endangered plant is found in only two locations in the world. One is at the Serpentine Prairie in Redwood Regional Park and the other is the San Francisco Presido. Presidio clarkia is a beautiful, lavender-pink native flower that blooms in May through June and grows only on serpentine soils. It is so rare and fragile that is has been listed as endangered for almost 30 years — one of the oldest listings in the California Department of Fish and Game’s endangered handbook. Named after Captain William Clark, co-leader and botanist of the Lewis and Clark party, the Presidio clarkia played an important role in research conducted from the 1950s-1990s. This unique native plant was significant in shedding light on processes of evolution and plants, and it is famous
