NPS photo

A Seaside Daisy on windswept Mori Point

Evolving in a harsh coastal climate, the plants of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area are a hardy bunch. A Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and extended, dry summers encourage plants to adapt to long seasons without water. Habitats are dominated by evergreen shrubs and patchy grasslands (commonly referred to as coastal scrub and coastal prairie). Vegetation is fire adapted, preventing forests from dominating the landscape.  Coastal scrub plants are usually low-growing, thick-leaved shrubs with aromatic oils for temperature regulation and hairy or waxy coatings for water retention. Coastal prairie bunch grasses die back in the summer, and bulbs store energy for next year’s growth.  In other areas, coastal species tolerate wind pruning, salt spray, and thin soils. In sheltered areas and along waterways, woodland and wetland communities are nurtured. Collectively these natural areas host more than 886 plant species and subspecies.

The northern California coast can seem an unforgiving environment, but due to these stresses many distinct species have formed. Golden Gate is located in the center of the California Floristic Province, one of only five regions in the world with a Mediterranean climate. Mediterranean regions have high floral diversity and unique assemblages rivaled only by the equatorial rainforests. Add urban development and the stresses of habitat destruction and introduced species, and many plants are pushed to the brink of extinction. Golden Gate National Recreation Area serves as a refuge for an astonishing number of these rare plants. With populations scattered throughout the Recreation Area, these protected lands are often the last chance to prevent extinction.

NPS photo

California Poppy, the state flower of California, was first described and named at the Presidio of San Francisco.

Microclimates due to many changes in topography along the rugged coastal mountains can also create conditions where species become isolated in their distribution. These factors cause a high degree of endemism, meaning that species occur nowhere else in the world. Plant diversity is boosted in Golden Gate due to its location in the middle of changing climatic zones. The park includes some species that reach their northern distributional limit as well as others that are at their southern limit. Thirty-eight rare or special status plant species are currently identified within GGNRA. Of those species, 9 are Federally Endangered, 1 is Federally Threatened, 13 are Federal Species of Concern, and the remaining 15 species are included or proposed for inclusion by the California Native Plant Society. GGNRA has adopted the policy that all special status plant species be afforded the full protection of the Endangered Species Act.

Park scientists have been monitoring these plants for over a decade, providing valuable baseline information for species on the brink. Listed species are counted and mapped every one to three years. The resulting data gives insight into the shifts in distribution and population size of these special plants.