Researchers rediscover rare island plant after 10-year search: 'It shows the island is making a recovery'
The rediscovery of a plant that was last seen around 60 years ago has given botanists in California a reason to be cheerful, KCLU reports.
The Saints' Daisy had not been sighted in the Channel Islands since the mid-1960s, with some scientists believing the species to be extinct.
However, a team of researchers hadn't given up hope, scouring Santa Cruz Island for nearly a decade to find evidence of the plant that others feared was lost.
In September, KCLU reported that those efforts had finally proved successful, with a confirmed sighting on the island.
"If this plant is here, this is where it's going to be," Sean Carson, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden's Rare Plant Field Program Manager, told KCLU. "Stumbling up this steep cliff, ducking under branches, and crawling through chaparral, I just had this great feeling. Lo and behold, I peek up above the hill and see these dark green lime leaves, and I knew it instantly."
While it's great news for botanists, it's also a welcome discovery for the local area, signifying its powers of recovery after being impacted by farming in the 1800s. The arrival of sheep and pigs to the island decimated native plants, and the sighting of the Saints' Daisy shows rewilding efforts are proving successful.
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"This is really important because it shows the island is making a recovery," Carson added.
In fact, the Saints' Daisy wasn't the only plant the botanists uncovered, with a black oak tree — previously thought to be extinct on the island — also spotted.
Nature is remarkably resilient, and even small efforts to restore a green space can make a notable difference.
It doesn't have to be a large project like on the Channel Islands, either. Reserving a patch of your garden for native plants welcomes pollinators and other small creatures, boosting local biodiversity.
What's more, these plants can withstand typical local weather and thrive in the area's soil, making them hardier than the typical monoculture lawns found at modern properties and requiring significantly less maintenance. In California, where water supplies dip below demand often, having plants that aren't so thirsty is ideal.
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Researchers rediscover rare island plant after 10-year search: 'It shows the island is making a recovery' first appeared on The Cool Down.
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