Catalina Island Conservancy recently donated more than 200 native plants to Santa Cruz Island Foundation. Volunteers and staff from Catalina Island Conservancy, Island Packers, and Santa Cruz Island Foundation worked together to transport the mix of Catalina and Channel Islands endemic species across land and sea.

Conservancy member and Catalina advocate Linda Massey coordinated logistics for the donation. On October 30, Island Packers’ catamaran, Islander, sailed from Ventura Harbor to Catalina Island’s Isthmus where the Catalina Island Conservancy team awaited them, ready to deliver precious cargo. The plants, grown at the Conservancy’s Ackerman Native Plant Nursery, included multiple Catalina and Channel Island endemics including Feltleaf ceanothus (Ceanothus arboreus), Catalina endemic Catalina Island dudleya (Dudleya virens ssp. hassei), Nevin’s wooly sunflower (Constancea nevinii), Showy island snapdragon (Galvezia speciosa), Southern island mallow (Malva assurgentiflora ssp. glabra), Island live oak (Quercus tomentella), Catalina endemic St. Catherine’s lace (Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum), and Catalina endemic Santa Catalina Island bush-mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. catalinensis).

The plants are a donation for Santa Cruz Island Foundation’s new Courtyard Gallery of the Chrisman California Islands Center in Carpinteria, Calif.

“It is rewarding to partner with like-minded organizations and find a great home for these unique and special Catalina plants,” said Cayman Lanzone, conservation horticulturist at Catalina Island Conservancy. “We are excited that visitors to the Chrisman California Islands Center will be able to experience a glimpse of Catalina Island and hopefully be inspired to come visit.”

Learn more about Ackerman Native Plant Nursery

Photos from the plant collection: