Friday, September 09, 2016

MIRACLE ON DEVIL MOUNTAIN

By Bob Walsh

OK, it might not be a miracle miracle, but it is noteworthy, especially if you are a flower freak. It ranks up there with finding a live Passenger Pigeon or Dodo bird.

The Mount Diablo Buckwheat is a wildflower that was thought to be extinct. A patch of it was recently found on the 6,000 acre Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve near Antioch, CA.

The flower patch was actually discovered in May but it’s location was kept a deep, dark secret for fear that wild flower junkies would trample all over it.

Actually the thing was rediscovered 11 years ago, but had been thought to be extinct for nearly 70 years previously. It then took a long hiatus, but popped up again.

The plant, known officially as Eriogonum Truncatum, was first noted and recorded in 1862 on a ranch near Brentwood on land owned by John Marsh, one of the first Anglo settlers in the area. It has since been noted in only seven locations.

I realize in the great scope of things this isn’t a big deal, but I do think it is kind of neat. Maybe the Passenger Pigeon or Dodo bird will be next. After all, the Ivory Billed Woodpecker showed up long after it was thought to be extinct, so there is hope.

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