Why Serpentine Rocks: Serpentine Plant-Soil Relations in California and Beyond

Nishanta 'Nishi' Rajakaruna, Ph.D. Professor of Plant Biology, Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University

Serpentine soils have long fascinated botanists for the specialized floras they support and the challenges they pose to plant survival and growth. Serpentine ecology is not a foreign concept to California’s botanists. After all, serpentinite is the state rock and serpentinite outcrops within the California Floristic Province harbor 14.7% of California’s endemic plants (~255 taxa), including many that are rare and endangered. The talk will highlight serpentine-associated plants from California and elsewhere and discuss key research on their diversity, ecology, evolution as well as on approaches to conservation and restoration.