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Sebastopol Meadowfoam
(Limnanthes vinculans)

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 56:61173: December 2, 1991)
CRITICAL HABITAT: None designated.
RECOVERY PLAN: Vernal pool recovery plan (under development).
DESCRIPTION: Sebastopol meadowfoam (Limnanthes vinculans) is a small (up to 12-inch tall), multi-stemmed herb of the false meadowfoam family (Limnanthaceae). Although the first leaves are narrow and undivided, leaves on the mature plant have three to five undivided, paddle-shaped leaflets along each side of a long stalk (petiole). The small white flowers occur in profuse masses lining pools and swales, giving the appearance of "foam" in the grass during spring. Locally, this species is restricted to the southern half of the Santa Rosa Plains. The shape of the leaves distinguishes Sebastopol meadowfoam from other members of the Limnanthes genus.
Small, bowl-shaped, white flowers appear April through May. The white flowers are born singly at the end of stems. See Hickman (1993) for a detailed description of the species.
DISTRIBUTION: The species has not been recorded outside southwestern Cotati Valley, where it occurs in less than thirty locations. It is found in seasonally wet meadows, swales and vernal pools in the Laguna de Santa Rosa, Sonoma County. The species ranges from the city of Graton, east to Santa Rosa, and southeast to Scenic Avenue, and southwest to the community of Cunningham, largely surrounding the northern and western perimeter of the city of Sebastopol.
Other endangered plants found in the Cotati Valley include Sonoma Sunshine or Baker's Stickyseed (Blennosperma bakeri) and Burke's Goldfields (Lasthenia burkei).
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Primary threats to the species consist of activities that result in the destruction of the plants or hydrologic changes in their habitats. Such activities include urbanization, industrial development, agricultural land conversion, off-highway vehicle use, horseback riding, trampling by grazing cattle and road widening.
This species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in November 1979. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).
REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
California Native Plant Society. 2000. CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants (Sixth Edition). CNPS Special Publication No. 1.
Hickman, J. C. (ed.). 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. Berkeley: University of California Press. Sacramento, CA.