THE COOL DOWN - Urban development in California is threatening a new manzanita species — a plant species already considered highly vulnerable since its discovery in the area.
What's happening?
The Dana Reserve project, a housing development in Nipomo, is a 288-acre community with 1,370 residential units on land where a new manzanita species was discovered, the University of California, Riverside observed.
Manzanitas are drought-tolerant evergreen shrubs or tiny trees. Growing to 6 to 12 feet, they are easily spotted by their smooth, red-brown bark. These trees thrive in xeric conditions, appearing frequently on rocky slopes, canyons, and barren ridges, according to a Department of Agriculture plant database.
Indigenous peoples of California sometimes used the wood of manzanita trees to dry and smoke fish and the dried berries of the plant, ground to coarse grains, to make biscuits, according to University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. The tree's flowers naturally attracted pollinators including hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.
"We weren't expecting to find a new species in such a developed area," said Amy Litt, UC Riverside plant biologist. "But as we examined the plants, we realized the Nipomo Mesa plants were quite distinct." For example, they featured a shaggy gray bark.