A Flora of the Ballona Wetlands and Environs

Abstract

A list of vascular plant taxa is provided for a study area that encompasses the current Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, Ballona Freshwater Wetlands, and areas that were part of the historic Ballona Wetlands and adjacent bluffs. The flora for this area has been documented in unpublished reports and voucher collections but not compiled into a single list. A total of 407 taxa comprise this flora, of which 40% are not indigenous to California. This percentage is higher than the percentage of non-indigenous species in California as a whole (17%). Out of 242 native species reported for the study area, 26 percent (62 species) have not been observed or collected since major hydrological alterations of the watershed began in the 1930s. Restoration planned for the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve offers an opportunity to re-introduce some of the historically native flora, including rare and endangered species.