VI. Clintonia andrewsiana Torrey

Area of Application: Throughout the area covered by the Northwest Forest Plan.

A. Introduction

Clintonia andrewsiana is a perennial herb in the lily family (Liliaceae) that is found in moist, shady forests along the coast of northern California. Common names applied to this species include Redwood beadlily, red clintonia, and Andrew's beadlily.

Although there seem to be some questions concerning the association of Clintonia andrewsiana with old-growth habitat, it is classified as a Survey and Manage Strategy 1 and 2 species under the FSEIS/ROD (USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management 1994a, 1994b). C. andrewsiana is not on the Federal threatened or endangered lists, the State of California's rare or endangered lists, the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service special status or sensitive species lists in California, or the California Department of Fish and Game Special Plants List. It is on List 2-ex of the Oregon Natural Heritage Program (1998), which indicates that it has been extirpated in Oregon, but is more stable or more common elsewhere. If documented in Oregon, it would be an Oregon/Washington BLM Bureau Assessment Species.

B. Unique Characteristics, Biology, and Ecology

The following is a technical description of Clintonia andrewsiana:

Rhizome 4-10 mm diam. LVS 5(6), 5-12 cm wide, elliptic, + hairy. INFL: umbels gen 1-4, lateral; peduncle 25-50 cm, hairy; bracts 1-3; pedicels 1-3 cm, unequal, hairy. FL 10-18 mm; perianth pink to rose-purple, hairy, segments pouch-like at base. FR 8-12 mm. n=14 (Hickman 1993).

In nontechnical terms, the flowering stems are 25-50 cm (10-20 inches) tall with showy pink to deep red flowers, 12-19 mm (one-half to three-quarters inch) long, containing yellow anthers. The 4 or 5 basal leaves are elliptic in shape, 15-30 cm (6-12 inches) long, shiny green, and with sheathing petioles. A few hairs occur along the leaf margin and basal portion of the midrib. The fruit is a berry that is less than 12 mm (one-half inch) long, metallic blue in color, and contains black seeds. It blooms from May to July (Eastman 1990; Hickman 1993).

C. Specific Habitat Associations

Clintonia andrewsiana occurs generally within redwood forests on shaded, damp sites (Hickman 1993; USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management 1994b). Sites range from sea level to 2000 feet in elevation (Williams 1996). Typical associated species include Polystichum munitum, Rhododendron macrophyllum, Lithocarpus densiflorus, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Vaccinium ovatum (Holland 1986; USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management 1994b; Williams 1996). C. andrewsiana is also found in associations where redwood mixes with hardwoods and other conifer species (Williams 1996). Information on herbarium specimens indicates that C. andrewsiana also inhabits sites that are other than late-seral redwood forests. These include "under oaks, maples, and firs", "white sandy soil in pine barrens", "edge of forest bordering a marsh", "roadside", "timbered redwood site now covered with shrub tanbark oak", "open hillsides", and "metropolitan" (Williams 1996). Clintonia andrewsiana is found along roadsides and trails within late-seral stands (Williams 1996). The species is relatively common in older second growth forests as the canopy closes, and is relatively abundant in many sites where past selective harvest has left stands with small openings, filtered light, and edges (Williams 1996). It occurs in second growth within the City of Arcata (Williams 1996). Characteristics that seem to be common to all these habitats are moist, humus soil, and deep to partial shade.

D. Range of Clintonia andrewsiana

1. Known Range

Clintonia andrewsiana is found within the range of the coastal redwood forests in California from the Santa Cruz Mountains in Monterey County, north to the Smith River in Del Norte County. While much of the habitat for the C. andrewsiana is on privately owned lands within this range, populations on federal lands are primarily in Redwood National Park (USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management 1994b), with some occurrences in State parks (Williams 1996). Suitable habitat also occurs on Six Rivers National Forest (USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management 1994b).

2. Suspected Range

The species has been reported historically from southwest Oregon (USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management 1994b; Siddall 1979; Hickman 1993), but there is some question as to whether it still exists in Oregon (Eastman 1990; Kagan 1987). The Oregon Natural Heritage Program (1998) has C. andrewsiana on List 2-ex, which indicates that it is thought to have been extirpated in Oregon, although it may be more stable or more common elsewhere.

E. Timing of Surveys

The blooming period for Clintonia andrewsiana is from May to July and surveys should be implemented during this period.

F. Threats

The major threats to C. andrewsiana are summarized as follows:

• clearcutting can have short-term (10 to 20 years) negative effects.
• fire suppression
• urbanization
• nontarget effects of herbicides

REFERENCES

Eastman, D. C. 1990. Rare and Endangered Plants of Oregon. Beautiful America. Wilsonville, OR.

Hickman, J. (Ed.). 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Holland, R. F. 1986. Preliminary Descriptions of the Terrestrial Natural Communities of California. State of California, The Resources Agency, Department of Fish and Game. Sacramento, CA.

Kagan, J. 1987. Draft Species Management Guide for Clintonia andrewsiana. Submitted to the Siskiyou National Forest Nov. 30, 1989. Oregon Natural Heritage Data Base, Portland, OR.

Oregon Natural Heritage Program. 1998. Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland, Oregon. 92 pp.

Siddall, J. L., K. L. Chambers and D. H. Wagner. 1979. Rare, Threatened and Endangered Vascular Plants in Oregon--An Interim Report. Oregon Natural Area Preserves Advisory Committee.

USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management. 1994a. Final supplemental environmental impact statement on managing of habitat for late successional and old-growth species within the range of the northern spotted owl. Portland, Oregon.

USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management. 1994b. Final supplemental environmental impact statement on managing of habitat for late successional and old-growth species within the range of the northern spotted owl. Appendix J2, Results of Additional Species Analysis. Portland, Oregon.

Williams, Barbara. 1996. Interim Management Guidelines for Clintonia andrewsiana (Redwood beadlily). Unpublished manuscript.