Plants of Santa Cruz

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Ecosystem

Sand Hills

What are the Sand Hills?

The Santa Cruz Sandhills are a unique community of plants and animals found only on outcrops of Zayante sand soil in the

central portion of Santa Cruz County⁠

, in central coastal California.

The

Zayante soils⁠

are derived from sediment deposited over 15 million years ago when the region was under a vast sea. As evidence of their origins, the inland Sandhills contain a variety of marine fossils, including deep beds of sand dollars.

Due to their coarse texture, Zayante soils have low water and nutrient availability. As a result, they support two endemic

communities⁠

which are very different from the moisture-loving coast redwood and mixed evergreen forests that dominate the region.

⁠

Sand chaparra⁠

l is dominated by shrub species including manzanita.

⁠

Sand parkland⁠

is characterized by sparse stands of towering

ponderosa pines⁠

with a dense and diverse understory of native wildflowers.

Due to their limited geographic range (Santa Cruz County) and narrow habitat specificity (Zayante Soils), the endemic communities and species of the Sandhills are naturally extraordinarily rare. Estimated to cover 6,000 acres originally, approximately 40% of Sandhills

habitat has been lost⁠

, primarily due to

sand quarrying⁠

and

development⁠

. The remaining,

fragmented habitat⁠

is threatened by future development, while

fire exclusion⁠

exotic species⁠

, and

unlawful recreation⁠

degrade habitat even within Sandhills preserves.

Sand Chapparal

Sand chaparral is dominated by shrubs including Santa Cruz Mountains manzanita, buck brush, and

silverleaf manzanita⁠

, which is endemic to the Sandhills. Sand chaparral also contains scattered trees, including short-statured coast live oaks and two species of pine: knobcone and ponderosa. Within the gaps in the shrub and tree canopy, sand chaparral supports numerous herbaceous plants, including several species of Navarettia, everlasting nest-straw,

Santa Cruz monkeyflower⁠

, and the

Ben Lomond spineflower⁠

, which is also endemic to the Sandhills.

Sand chaparral is home to many animals, including pileated woodpeckers, brush rabbits, and two sandhills endemic animals: the

Mount Hermon June beetle⁠

and the

Santa Cruz kangaroo rat⁠

Sand Parkland

Located predominantly on steep ridges within the Santa Cruz Sandhills, sand parkland is characterized by a sparse canopy of ponderosa pines surrounded by a diverse assemblage of subshrubs and herbaceous plants. Sand parkland contains the highest diversity and abundance of rare and unique plant species, including the three herbs endemic to the Sandhills: the

Ben Lomond spineflower⁠

Santa Cruz wallflower⁠

, and

Ben Lomond buckwheat⁠

Sand parkland is also home to the sandhills endemic insects: the

Mount Hermon June beetle⁠

and Zayante band-winged grasshopper. In addition, sand parkland contains populations of the

coast horned lizard⁠

and western whiptail lizard, which are far away from the next nearest populations.

Sand parkland is an extraordinarily rare community, occurring on fewer than 200 acres in the world.

Reference: www.santacruzsandhills.com

Plants in the Sandhills

Orange-bush Monkey Flower

Distincitves

Orange flowers and underside of leaves are sticky to the touch.

Interior Live Oak

Distincitves

Leaves are slightly smaller than the coast live oak and the plant can look far more shrub-like, also found commonly in the sandhill areas of Henry Cowell.