Native California Plant Rediscovered at Vandenberg Space Force Base
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden And California Native Plant Society announced the re- discovery of a rare California native plant.
This plant is called the Santa Ynez groundstar and is a ground-breaking re-discovery. It was first discovered in 1929 and then again in 1995. For 3 decades, scientists looking for the tiny plant came back empty handed.
The groundstar is about the size of a penny, and there's only a few of them in existence.
Scientists recently found the plant again on Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“They're so small. But once you get down at the level of the plant, it really is a remarkable little plant. These beautiful little fuzzy spoon shaped leaves and a little tiny head of flowers,” said Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Botanist Matt Guilliams.
“ It's one small, one small bit of knowledge that we didn't have before. We didn't know whether this plant still existed or not out in nature,” said Conservation Geneticist Kristen Lehman.
Currently, the groundstar has only been spotted in 2 locations here on the central coast.
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden says having the Santa Ynez groundstar become part of their collection sends a hopeful message that small things make a big difference.
