CNDDB News Blog

Left: Bolander’s clover, photo by Trevor Van Loon (CC-BY 4.0)
Right: Austin’s astragalus, photo by Matt Berger (CC-BY 4.0)

The California Biodiversity Data Exchange needs your help to fill in data gaps using citizen science through the ongoing Counting Clovers and Mapping Milkvetches project on iNaturalist.

Clovers (genus Trifolium) and milkvetch (genus Astragalus) are widespread and abundant in many California ecosystems, but often overlooked. There are 153 species of Trifolium and Astragalus in California, 99 of which are tracked by the CNDDB!

So far, this project has catalogued 500+ observations of almost 50 CNDDB-tracked rare species, and there’s still time to hunt down a few more. Now is the perfect time to look for some of the higher-elevation montane species, such as Bolander’s clover (Trifolium bolanderi) in Yosemite or Austin’s astragalus (Astragalus austiniae) in the Tahoe basin.

The project curators have put together some helpful guides for how to identify clovers (PDF) and milkvetches (PDF), and which parts of the plant to focus on in your photos. Any iNaturalist observations of clovers and milkvetches you’ve made this spring or summer (March 1 – August 31, 2026) will be counted in the project, and any rare species you observe will be incorporated into future CNDDB updates.

Follow the project on iNaturalist for more updates and a peek at the species that have been observed so far!

The following CNDDB documents have been updated:

• Special Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Lichens List (PDF)
• Endangered, Threatened, and Rare Plants List (PDF)
• Changes to the CNDDB Special Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Lichens List (PDF)
• Special Animals List (PDF)
• Endangered and Threatened Animals List (PDF)

Links to the T&E and Special Plants/Animals lists can be found on the CNDDB Plants and Animals web page. More information about state listing can be found on the California Fish and Game Commission CESA web page and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife CESA web page. If you have any questions about these lists, please email us at CNDDB@wildlife.ca.gov.

Photos: CDFW photos of Surf thistle (Cirsium rhothophilum) by Raffica La Rosa and Milo Baker's lupine (Lupinus milobakeri) by Jeb Bjerke.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has initiated recovery planning for two plant species, Surf thistle (Cirsium rhothophilum) and Milo Baker’s lupine (Lupinus milobakeri). Surf thistle will undergo a five-year species review (Fish & G. Code, §§ 2072.3 & 2077) to determine if the conditions that led to its original listing of threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) have changed, to provide recommendations regarding the species’ status and management to the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission), and to collect any information that will further recovery planning for this species.

Milo Baker’s lupine recently underwent a five-year species review and a status review by the Department with a recommendation of a listing status change from threatened to endangered. The Commission subsequently determined that a change in listing was warranted and listed Milo Baker’s lupine as endangered under CESA. We are seeking any additional information that will further recovery planning for this species.

As part of this process, the CNDDB would like to encourage anyone who has observed Surf thistle and/or Milo Baker’s lupine to submit their findings to us. People who have questions or comments about the review process should email our native plant Recovery Coordinator. The deadline to submit data and comments is September 30, 2026, to allow us sufficient time for evaluation.

Surf thistle is a low-growing, short-lived perennial thistle that occurs on coastal dunes from Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara, occurring in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Milo Baker’s lupine is a tall, annual lupine that occurs in Round Valley in Mendocino County. Take of these species is prohibited without the appropriate permit(s), including for scientific, educational or management purposes. For more information on permitting, visit our CESA permits web page.

We need your help in better understanding the complete distributions of Surf thistle and Milo Baker’s lupine. If you have ever found them in the wild, submit your findings to us through our Online Field Survey Form.