Rare Plants of Santa Clara County Parks

Many rare plants thrive in Santa Clara County Parks.  Here, plants are protected from development, habitat fragmentation and other threats. Santa Clara County Parks allows visitors to see these plants up close, some of which may not be found anywhere else in the world.

California’s myriad combinations of soils, geography, and microclimates have given rise to plant species uniquely adapted to flourish in specific habitats.  This landscape diversity creates numerous species but can also contribute to a plant’s rarity.  For example, 95 different species of manzanitas flourish in California, each with unique adaptations to their particular home site.  Manzanita species have diversified and specialized to live in serpentine or sandstone, redwood forests or chaparral, from coastal to inland sites, and from sunny sites to shady forest edges.  About half of California’s ninety-five manzanita species are considered rare due to California’s landscape diversity.

A plant may also be classified as rare because it depends upon an uncommon pollinator, because it has a poor dispersal method, or because much of its habitat has been converted or fragmented by humans.  Other plants will become increasingly rare due to climate change.  California natives such as Bush Anemone, Monterey Pine, and Coast Redwood are some of the plants whose distribution and numbers have shrunk as the state’s climate has turned drier and warmer. These plants, once more broadly distributed, have retreated to their current ranges in response to this dramatic climatic change.