Golden Gate National Recreation Area
White-Rayed Pentachaeta
Pentachaeta bellidiflora
Photo © Toni Corelli
Home >> Species >> White-Rayed Pentachaeta
White-Rayed Pentachaeta
Pentachaeta bellidiflora
The White-Rayed Pentachaeta is in the aster (Asteraceae) family. The species is a very small wildflower “endemic” to the San Francisco Bay Area. It was first collected in 1853 or 1854 during a railway route exploration, although the species was not described until 1885.
The White-Rayed Pentachaeta is now restricted to serpentine grasslands. It is an annual wildflower with pale pink ray flowers and yellow disk flowers. Although each plant is short in stature, the population within the San Francisco Peninsula Watershed is very large (thousands of plants) and makes for a bright show in late winter through early spring. This is still a great place to find the species within the GGNRA legislative boundary.
At one time, there were ten occurrences documented of the White-Rayed Pentachaeta. It ranged from Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz Counties; it was the widest ranging of all the species in the San Francisco Bay Area that are now considered in danger of extinction. Today just one population of White-Rayed Pentachaeta remains in the wild. The species was protected as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1995.
A combination of threats has reduced the White-Rayed Pentachaeta to its present state: urban development and habitat conversion caused by non-native plant invasions are two of the biggest threats the species faces. Lolium multiflorum, the Italian ryegrass, has been particularly hard on White-Rayed Pentachaeta.
Conservation Action Item
In order to fight back against invasive weeds, the GGNRA has created a citizen-science program designed to detect infestations of invasive weeds before they get out of control. Called "Weed Watchers," the program teaches individuals how to identify invasive weeds, and then report findings of where these weeds may be located in the Park. Get trained and become a Weed Watcher and help combat the invasive weeds that are threatening the continued existence of the White-Rayed Pentachaeta.
For more information about this Conservation Action Item:
Trips
- Thursday, March 6 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Train to become a GGNRA Weed Watcher, the action item you can take to help save the White-Rayed Pentachaeta! Includes training and an introductory hike. Bring your own lunch. Followed by a short hike. Location: Presidio 1216. RSVP Required: (415) 331-0639. NOTE: to complete the weed watcher training action item, you must agree to do a survey for high-priority invasive species at least once a month for 6 months.
- Thursday, March 13 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Train to become a GGNRA Weed Watcher, the action item you can take to help save the White-Rayed Pentachaeta! Includes training and an introductory hike. Bring your own lunch. Location: TBA. RSVP Required: (415) 331-0639. NOTE: to complete the weed watcher training action item, you must agree to do a survey for high-priority invasive species at least once a month for 6 months.
- Thursday, March 20, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.: Train to become a GGNRA Weed Watcher, the action item you can take to help save the White-Rayed Pentachaeta! Includes training and an introductory hike. Bring your own lunch. Location: Muir Woods. RSVP Required: (415) 331-0639. NOTE: to complete the weed watcher training action item, you must agree to do a survey for high-priority invasive species at least once a month for 6 months.
- Thursday, March 27, 2008, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Train to become a GGNRA Weed Watcher, the action item you can take to help save the White-Rayed Pentachaeta! Includes training and an introductory hike. Bring your own lunch. Location: TBA. RSVP Required: (415) 331-0639. NOTE: to complete the weed watcher training action item, you must agree to do a survey for high-priority invasive species at least once a month for 6 months.
- Thursday, April 3, 2008, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Train to become a GGNRA Weed Watcher, the action item you can take to help save the White-Rayed Pentachaeta! Includes training and an introductory hike. Bring your own lunch. Location: Fort Cronkhite Building 1063. RSVP Required: (415) 331-0639. NOTE: to complete the weed watcher training action item, you must agree to do a survey for high-priority invasive species at least once a month for 6 months.
- Saturday, June 14, 2008, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Train to become a GGNRA Weed Watcher, the action item you can take to help save the White-Rayed Pentachaeta! Includes training and an introductory hike. Bring your own lunch and water. Location: 1216 Ralston Ave. at the Presidio in San Francisco. RSVP required: call (415)331-5023 or email Jenn_Jordan@nps.gov. Click here for directions. NOTE: to complete the weed watcher training action item, you must agree to do a survey for high-priority invasive species at least once a month for 6 months.
- Thursday, June 26, 2008, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Train to become a GGNRA Weed Watcher, the action item you can take to help save the White-Rayed Pentachaeta! Includes training and an introductory hike. Bring your own lunch and water. Location: Fort Cronkhite Building 1050. RSVP required: call (415)331-5023 or email Jenn_Jordan@nps.gov. Click here for directions. NOTE: to complete the weed watcher training action item, you must agree to do a survey for high-priority invasive species at least once a month for 6 months.
Blog
Please enter your comments for this article.
Previous Comments
Posted by: Liam O'Brien | 2008-05-16 00:53:36
The folks at Edgewood Park are hardcore plant people. Had a wonderful crash course in the special endemics in the park by Ken Himes and Paul Hipple. Saw my first Purple Mouse-Ears and Fragrant Fritillaries. After removing invasive thistles all morning, John Allen took me to where the isolated pop. of this species is within the park. Didn't see it there, but looking directly across Highway 280, he keyed out the small ridgetops that looked like a small dusting of snow. THAT was the daisy-like beauty.
Posted by: Brent | 2008-05-16 04:31:26
On May 17, folks can go to Edgewood and take an action item for the San Mateo Thronmint while working with the CNPS folks that Liam met.
Posted by: Steve Price | 2008-06-04 16:45:37
This is a great place to volunteer and we saw swaths of the White-Rayed Pentachaeta just beyond the chain-link fence beside the road.
Credits : Contact : FAQs : Downloads : Media Articles : Leaderboard : Discussion Group |
The 2008 GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year is a project of the following non-profit organizations:
|
