J20161110-0027—Dirca occidentalis—RPBG

Dirca occidentalis—western leatherwood. The species is included in the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants on list 1B.2 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere). There are approximately 65 populations in the San Francisco Bay Area, several of them disjunct from other populations and exhibiting genetic differences. Any one interested in the subject should start at Bill Grave's Jasper Ridge Preserve page stanford.io/2foEeml and the articles that can be found at the Jepson Online Interchange link to Google Scholar bit.ly/2fVtCQc . Jepson eFlora lists the blooming time for the species as November through March, although none of the gardeners at RPBG can remember the plants blooming this early. Photographed at Regional Parks Botanic Garden located in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, CA.

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