Update: Potemkin species in Sebastopol

Readers may recall the brouhaha last year when a federally protected plant, the Sebastopol meadowfoam, was discovered growing on the grounds of a controversial proposed housing development in the Northern California community; state wildlife officials investigated and said it was apparently planted on purpose. (May 25, 2005). Now the plant has sprung up again on the site, and although opponents of the project have seized on the news, the developer says it’s just a result of the germination of seeds from the earlier illicit plantation. (Terence Chea, “Trouble in bloom at Calif. development site”, AP/Boston Globe, Jul. 17).

One Comment

  • If it’s that easy to transplant and germinate this weed in an area outside of and different than its usual habitat, exactly why is it endangered? Simply start collecting and scattering its seeds all over the state: problem solved.