Document Type
Book
Publication Date
8-2016
Subjects
Endangered species -- Oregon, Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Endangered species -- Oregon -- Distribution, Endangered species -- Classification
Abstract
Extinction is a natural process. Today, however, plant and animal species are disappearing world-wide at an accelerated pace. Based on current trends, half of the species on earth will be extinct within the next 100 years. The major reasons for this are human caused changes to the environment, which continue to increase - in Oregon and throughout the world.
Once lost, a species can never be recovered, and there is no way of knowing how useful it may have been. We do know that human beings and many of their industries depend on plant and animal products. About 50% of all pharmaceuticals have a natural component as an active ingredient, yet less than one percent of the world's species have been chemically analyzed and tested. Many insects and plants contain undescribed and highly functional compounds.
Limnanthes pumila subsp. grandiflora, or wooly meadow-foam, a rare plant that grows in southwest Oregon, has been found to produce a hybrid with the more common member of the genus, Limnanthes alba. This hybrid grows well in the poorly drained soils of the Willamette Valley and produces a valuable oil used for soaps, plastic and rubber production. In addition, the new hybrid meadow-foam does not require the field burning necessary for other crops. This species, and many other Oregon natives, will be lost without intervention. The purpose of this publication is to provide land managers, owners and interested parties with a list of those species in Oregon which are in greatest jeopardy.
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Locate the Document
The Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC) is part of the Institute for Natural Resources (INR) located at Portland State University (PSU). ORBIC maintains extensive databases of Oregon biodiversity, concentrating on rare and endangered plants, animals and ecosystems.
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/19334
Citation Details
Oregon Biodiversity Information Center. 2016. Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon. Institute for Natural Resources, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. 130 pp.
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