Rare Natural Communities
& Rare and Endangered Plants
While people connect easily with the spectacular recovery of the American bald eagle, California elephant seal or other endangered wildlife, they may be less aware of the wildflowers underfoot or the subtly fragrant shrublands along the trail. Due to San Francisco's unique geology, extent of urban development, and biogeographic isolation, the city harbors rare and fragile native plant communities.
Serpentine grasslands, coastal dune scrub, wetlands, and maritime chapparal all have unique local expressions in the city's watersheds, and all provide very important local habitats for wildlife.
These “special ecological areas” harbor 20 rare and endangered plant species.
Most of these endangered members of the San Francisco flora grow
nowhere else but here in the Bay Area, and some only in the City
itself! The Presidio's watersheds
harbor 5 federally-listed endangered plant species in their
dunes and
serpentine soils. San Francisco is truly an ecological refuge for these
rare plants that need our very special micro-habitats to survive, and
which are vital members of our City's biological diversity.
CNPS Rare Plant Lists for: the Presidio & San Francisco
Take a tour of the rare plants of San Francisco!
