Join Don Thomas and members of the Santa Clara Valley and Yerba Buena CNPS Chapters for our fall fountai n thistle habitat restoration work party near the intersection of I-280 and Hwy. 92. We’ll meet on&nbs p;Saturday, November 29 and work from 10:00am to noon . Fountain thistle (Cirsium fontinale var . fontinale) is a federally endangered plant species that grows in an unusual and specialized habitat – serpentine seeps – and is only found at our work location and in a few other near by locations on the Peninsula.

Fountain thistle’s rec overy here is a restoration success story. Once almost completely disp laced by jubatagrass (Andean pampas grass), it has largely recovered h ere, as a result of the work done by CNPS volunteers. The CNPS pr oject is a cooperative of our Santa Clara Valley and Yerba Buena Chapt ers. However, fountain thistle is still under threat from invasion by non-native plants and by woody plants threatening to convert the area to shrubland or woodland. In addition, the bordering dry serpentine&nb sp;zone is habitat to another rare plant, Crystal Springs lessingia (< i>Lessingia arachnoidea), which is threatened by invasion of yello w star-thistle, fennel, tufted wallaby grass (Rytidosperma caespito sum) and other non-native plants.

Sturdy gloves are re commended; you might also want to wear long sleeves/pants and bring su nscreen, water, a hat and layered clothing. If you have them, bring to ols, such as trowels, spades and shovels. Some tools will also be ;provided.

Sign up on the Chapter’s M eetup page, here: www.meetup.com/California-Nati ve-Plant-Society-Santa-Clara-Valley-Chapter/www.meetup.com/California-Native-Plant-Society-Santa-Clara-Valley-C hapter/.

We’ll meet at the end of Lessingia Cou rt in San Mateo. For more info., contact Don at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaSc ript enabled to view it..