Parish's Daisy

Erigeron parishii

Description

Parish's daisy, Erigeron parishii, is a small perennial herb of the aster family (Compositae or Asteraceae) that reaches a height of 4-12 in (10-30 cm). The linear leaves are covered with soft, silvery hairs. Up to ten solitary flower heads are borne on cauline stalks; ray flowers are deep rose to lavender, and heads have grayish-green and glandular phyllaries.

Habitat

Parish's daisy is typically found associated with pinyon woodlands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and blackbrush scrub at elevations from 4,000 to 6,400 ft (1,200 to 1,920 m). It is usually found on dry rocky slopes, shallow drainages, and outwash plains on substrates derived from limestone or dolomite. Some populations occur on a granite/limestone interface, usually a granitic parent material overlain with an outwash of limestone materials. Two small outlying populations at the eastern edge of its range near Pioneertown occur on quartz monzonite substrates.

Distribution

Historical occurrences of Parish's daisy were recorded from Rattlesnake Canyon south of Old Woman Springs and from the Little San Bernardino Mountains; these locations have not been surveyed in over 50 years and merit additional field surveys. The species falls within a range 35 mi (56 km) long. Parish's daisy, known from fewer than 50 occurrences, has a total current population of about 16,000 individuals. Fewer than a third of the ocurrences comprise more than 1,000 individuals each. Populations occur primarily along the belt of carbonaceous substrates that extends from the western terminus at White Knob southeast to Pioneertown.

Threats

Parish's daisy is restricted primarily to carbonate and adjacent carbonate/granitic substrates occupied by pinyon-juniper woodland on the northern side of the San Bernardino Mountains. The imminent and primary threat facing this species is the on-going destruction of the carbonate substrates on which it grows by activities associated with limestone mining, including direct removal of mined materials, disposal of overburden on adjacent un-mined habitat, and road construction. Additional threats to its habitat include off-highway vehicle use, urban development near the community of Big Bear, development of a ski run, and energy development projects.

Conservation and Recovery

A few Parish's daisy populations are in or near the Burns Preserve and Pioneertown, which is protected through the auspices of the Natural Reserve System of the University of California. Although the Pioneertown site has been proposed for urban development, The Nature Conservancy has secured a voluntary agreement with the landowner to protect Parish's daisy at this site.

Contact

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office
2493 Portola Road, Suite B
Ventura, California 93003-7726
Telephone: (805) 644-1766

Reference

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 24 August 1994. "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Five Plants from the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California Determined to Be Threatened or Endangered." Federal Register http://endangered.fws.gov/r/fr94548.html.