CNDDB News Blog

Happy Earth Day, everyone! April 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. This year’s theme is climate action.

Earth Day started back on April 22 of 1970, when 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest the way we were treating our planet and called for environmental reform. Not long after, key environmental laws such as the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts were enacted.

So how can we celebrate Earth Day together, while apart? This year, there are talks, calls to actions, performances, and video teach-ins happening all around the world digitally. See what activities you may tune in on, or what actions you may take by spreading the word about conservation by visiting the Earth Day website.

Photo by Katie Ferguson

Happy Native Plant Week! In 2010, the California legislature designated the third week of April to be California Native Plant week, so this is the perfect time to take a moment to appreciate the beauty and diversity of California’s native flora. With approximately 6,500 species of plants naturally occurring in our state, and one third of those species growing nowhere else in the world, there is certainly quite a lot to appreciate!

While in-person gatherings and outings associated with Native Plant Week have been postponed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, there are still plenty of ways to explore and appreciate native plants from within your own home.

Calflora is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in native plants. It is a comprehensive database that includes all plants that grow wild in California (both native and non-native species) and has a detailed profile page for each species, among many other useful features.

iNaturalist is a citizen science project that allows users to upload and share observations. If you need help identifying a plant, iNaturalist will offer suggestions based on your photos and other species seen nearby, or you can enlist the help of other users to identify your observation. It is also a useful tool for exploring observations that have been made nearby; if your local ordinances allow, take a walk to a park and make some observations. And don’t forget to join the CNDDB iNaturalist project!

Zooniverse: Notes from Nature - Capturing California’s Flowers is a citizen science project that allows anyone to help California herbaria by transcribing herbarium labels from their collections. This is a perfect activity for when you’re stuck inside, but still want to help contribute to the botanical knowledge of California.

You can also visit the CNPS website for additional information and activities related to Native Plant Week.

Thamnophis hammondii – Two-striped gartersnake

Submitted by Noah Morales

Noah found this two-striped gartersnake in Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara county. As seen in his photo above, these gartersnakes get their name from the light stripe along each side of the body. They occur along the central and south coast in California. They are typically found near water where they feed on aquatic prey including fish and amphibians. Two-striped gartersnakes are a CDFW Species of Special Concern and have disappeared or declined in portions of their range due to habitat loss and stream alteration. Many thanks to Noah for this awesome detection!

Fritillaria pluriflora – adobe-lily

Submitted by Ryan Elliott

This eye-catching flower was featured in our March 2nd Taxon of the Week. Ryan Elliott has since found more in Glenn County! Fritillaria pluriflora is named for the many stunning pink flowers each plant produces (pluriflora means "many flowered"). It was originally listed in 1974 and is currently considered as a 1B.2 (rare or endangered in California and elsewhere, fairly endangered in California) in the California Rare Plant Ranking system. Fritillaria pluriflora can be found in chaparral, cismontane woodland, as well as valley and foothill grasslands most often in adobe soils. It blooms early in the year, flowering from February to April, making it some of the first flowers to add color to the landscape. Thank you, Ryan, for this amazing photo and all the great work you do!

Do you have some great photos of rare plants or wildlife detections? Submit them along with your findings through our Online Field Survey Form and see if your photos get showcased!