Loch Lomond button celery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Loch Lomond button celery |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eryngium
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| Species: |
constancei
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Eryngium constancei is a special kind of flowering plant. It belongs to the Apiaceae family, which also includes carrots and parsley! People often call it the Loch Lomond button celery or Loch Lomond coyote thistle. This plant is unique because it only grows in California. You can find it in just a few spots north of the San Francisco Bay Area. One important place where it grows is the Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Ecological Reserve in Lake County. It mostly lives in vernal pools, which are temporary ponds that fill with water in winter and spring. Sadly, this plant is an endangered species, meaning it's at risk of disappearing forever. Both California and the U.S. government protect it.
What Does the Loch Lomond Button Celery Look Like?
This plant is a perennial herb. This means it's a plant that lives for more than two years and has soft, green stems instead of woody ones. It can grow up to 20 or 30 centimeters (about 8 to 12 inches) tall. Its stems often branch out.
The leaves are dark green and shaped a bit like a spade. They grow on long stalks called petioles. These leaves can stand up straight or lie flat on the ground. Their edges can be smooth, slightly toothed, or even sharply serrated (like a saw).
Flowers and How They Grow
The plant has small flower heads. Each head is less than a centimeter wide. Around the base of each flower head are a few longer, straight, sharp leaf-like parts called bracts. The tiny flowers packed into the round head are usually white.
Why Is This Plant Endangered?
The Loch Lomond button celery is in danger because its home, the fragile vernal pool habitat, is being destroyed. Many things cause this problem:
- Runoff from logging: When trees are cut down, soil and dirt can wash into the pools, filling them up.
- Erosion: Soil washing away can also damage the pools.
- Development: New buildings and roads can cover up or change the land where the pools are.
- Off-road vehicles: Vehicles like ATVs driving through the pools can crush the plants and destroy their habitat.
Protecting these vernal pools is very important to help the Loch Lomond button celery survive.
