Superstars

Coryphantha chlorantha (Desert Pincushion) on list 2.1

In California, CNPS has put all rare plants on one of 5 lists. Those on list 1 are the rarest. List 1A plants are presumed extinct. List 1B plants are rare, threatened or endangered in California and elsewhere. List 2 plants are rare in California, but are more common elsewhere. And those on lists 3 and 4 we either don't have enough information about to put on the other rare lists or are under watch because they may become rare.

Each plant also has a threat ranking.
0.1-Seriously threatened in California (high degree/immediacy of threat)
0.2-Fairly threatened in California (moderate degree/immediacy of threat)
0.3-Not very threatened in California (low degree/immediacy of threats or no current threats known)

The little cactus you see above is on list 2 with a .1 threat ranking and is a seriously threatened plant in California. So really anytime you discover such a rare plant it's like running into a celebrity and therefore deserves getting a picture with, which is precisely what I did below! As you can see from the size of this plant you could easily walk right past it if you weren't looking for it. So keep your eyes open treasure hunters-if you're lucky you'll have an encounter with a superstar.

Grusonia parishii with Primm, NV in the background

Here is another cactus you could walk right by. It looks dead, but it is actually alive and well and in the spring will produce beautiful yellow pink tipped flowers. It is listed and ranked at 2.2 by CNPS.

For more info on lists and rankings go to: http://www.cnps.org/cnps/rareplants/ranking.php