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Baker's Stickyseed AKA Sonoma Sunshine
(Blennosperma bakeri)

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 56:61173: December 2, 1991)
CRITICAL HABITAT: None designated.
RECOVERY PLAN: Vernal pool recovery plan (under development).
DESCRIPTION: Baker's stickyseed (Blennosperma bakeri), which is also known as Sonoma sunshine, is a small (up to 12 inches in height), annual herb in the aster family (Asteraceae). The plant has alternate, narrow, hairless leaves, 2 to 6 inches long. The upper ones have 1 to 3 lobes, the lower ones none. The small flowers are bright yellow. This species is the most widely distributed of the endangered plants in the Santa Rosa Plain.
From March through April, the species produces yellow daisy-like flowers. The yellow disk flowers have white pollen and stigmas. Sterile ray flowers, which are yellow or sometimes white, have red stigmas. The lobe pattern of the leaves and the color of ray stigmas separate this species from other in the genus.
DISTRIBUTION: Blennosperma bakeri is found in grasslands and vernal pools. The species is restricted to Sonoma County. It is known from 35 sites in Cotati Valley and 7 other sites in Sonoma Valley.
Other endangered plants found in the Cotati Valley include Sebastopol meadowfoam (Limnanthes vinculans) and Burke's Goldfields (Lasthenia Burkei).
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Approximately 30 percent of the historic occurrences have been eliminated or seriously damaged. Most of the remaining sites are threatened by urbanization, wastewater effluent irrigation, and agricultural land conversion. Westward expansion of the City of Santa Rosa threatens at least half the remaining habitat.
The species was listed as endangered by the California Department of Fish and Game in February 1992. 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.
See also: Madroño 9:103-104 (1947).