Your planet is a lush and getting lusher. The reasons for the lushness and its increase are 391,000 plant species and increasing and beneficial availability of carbon dioxide. Well, 391,000 soon less one, maybe. Seems that our planet undergoes a constant extinction level, one now elevated by humans eliminating plants and animals either on purpose or as unintended consequences of human activities. That “soon less one—maybe” comes from the list of endangered plants. One of those is the Braunton’s milkvetch plant in California. But do not fear its loss as inevitable. California has protected it from danger imposed by power companies trying to replace old power lines to prevent forest fires. * Seems that the workers replacing old power poles were trampling down the forest veggies, including the perennial Braunton’s milkvetch plant, a bush. So, California halted the project. What were those old power lines going to do…like start fires to burn through entire forests that are home to Braunton’s milkvetch plants? Trampling or burning? Which do you think posed the greater threat?
Now, let’s admit that extinction is not a good thing for a species. But it might be “not so bad a thing” for the planet. Species occupy niches formerly occupied by extinct species. You’re here as a niche-occupier—actually a multple-niche occupier because you’re an omnivore that can live in all 30 of Earth’s climates (albeit for a short time in some). Only a few species survive a long time, and most are relegated to a single ecology. Of those 391,000 species of plants in the Earth inventory at this time, few have lifespans that extend back farther than the Cretaceous Period and few can thrive under more than one climate type (“arid hot,” “arid cold” “monsoonal,” “Mediterranean,” for example; try operating a banana plantation in the Dakotas).
Survival vs Extinction
I planted a ginkgo tree on my property years ago. It’s a male, so it hasn’t produced any seed pods. When it goes, it goes. No offspring. But there are other members of the species that will ensure its survival, possibly for as long into the future as the species stretches into the past—180 million-plus years (Jurassic Period) with some relatives growing in the Permian Period and surviving the “Great Dying.” Ginkgos have survived multiple extinction events. A male and female gingko stand next to each other on the campus where I taught, with the female producing pungent and toxic seeds called “fruits.” (On my way across campus one day I picked up some fallen gingko fruits and absentmindedly during a conversation put them in my jacket pocket; subsequently I forgot about them, and then I had to have the jacket dry-cleaned to remove their odor) Interestingly, the Ginkgo biloba leaves, which turn a brilliant yellow in fall, are not toxic and have are heralded as a memory-boosting supplement and tea—which I could have used to remember placing those fruits in my pocket.
What was I saying?
Oh! Yes, some plant species endure; others don’t for a variety of reasons, one of which is human interference. And in California, where the Braunton’s milkvetch plants grow, humans interfere, supposedly for the good of the plant species, but definitely to the detriment of forests and houses, as the January, 2025, fires reveal. Save a bush; destroy 12,000 structures, I say. Is this an example of “not seeing the forest for the bushes”?
Okay, let’s put some blame on the plant here. “Braunton's milkvetch generally occurs below 2100 feet (640 m) in elevation, on south-, west-, and east-facing slopes, in open areas within chaparral. It is often found growing in disturbed areas such as burn areas, along fire roads or fuel breaks, and in areas that have been cleared by some means and where competition is low. This plant was historically found in gravelly clay soils overlaying granite sandstone, but is now found often associated with carbonate soils derived from scattered limestone lenses, or on noncarbonates at down-wash sites (Skinner 1991; USFWS 1999).” ** It grows in California. Not in Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona. California. Period! A single state. But the good news for environmentalists who “saved” the plant by shutting down the upgrades to the electrical system, is that the bush 'is often found growing in disturbed areas such as burn areas, along fire roads or fuel breaks, and in areas that have been cleared by some means and where competition is low.' The devastating fires that just caused 150 billion dollars in damage and displaced many while killing more than a dozen people have opened new lands for Braunton's milkvetch to colonize.
Are Humans More Important than a Plant?
Sure, we depend on plants to survive. They turn the Sun’s energy into food. But the planet, as I wrote above, is lush and getting lusher. And we consume more than one kind of plant, and to my knowledge, no one eats the Braunton's milkvetch. That it plays some role in California’s ecosystems is probably undeniable, but what exactly that role is or its significance beyond providing nectar for bees escapes me. The Canadian milkvetch has been used to make a poultice, but I believe that’s a different variety. Maybe there will be environmentalists mourning its eventual loss, but assuredly there are now humans mourning the loss of friends and family.
Okay, so every species adds to the grand interconnectedness of life on Earth. In that sense, losing California’s milkvetch is a loss and maybe a harbinger of declining biodiversity. I’m still not convinced that halting an upgrade to California’s electrical grid was prudent. Humans are also part of the environment—well not those humans made extinct by the fires.
Sure, also, I’m botanically challenged. So, I’ll acknowledge that there are those who see what I cannot see in my ignorance. Plants don’t have to serve humans directly. There are intricate networks underlying all life, and Braunton's milkvetch lies somewhere on some network. But those humans were also part of a network.
*https://nypost.com/2025/01/14/us-news/california-bureaucrats-halted-pacific-palisades-fire-safety-project-to-save-endangered-shrub/
**Center for Plant Conservation. https://saveplants.org/plant-profile/374/Astragalus-brauntonii/Brauntons-Milkvetch/
Now, let’s admit that extinction is not a good thing for a species. But it might be “not so bad a thing” for the planet. Species occupy niches formerly occupied by extinct species. You’re here as a niche-occupier—actually a multple-niche occupier because you’re an omnivore that can live in all 30 of Earth’s climates (albeit for a short time in some). Only a few species survive a long time, and most are relegated to a single ecology. Of those 391,000 species of plants in the Earth inventory at this time, few have lifespans that extend back farther than the Cretaceous Period and few can thrive under more than one climate type (“arid hot,” “arid cold” “monsoonal,” “Mediterranean,” for example; try operating a banana plantation in the Dakotas).
Survival vs Extinction
I planted a ginkgo tree on my property years ago. It’s a male, so it hasn’t produced any seed pods. When it goes, it goes. No offspring. But there are other members of the species that will ensure its survival, possibly for as long into the future as the species stretches into the past—180 million-plus years (Jurassic Period) with some relatives growing in the Permian Period and surviving the “Great Dying.” Ginkgos have survived multiple extinction events. A male and female gingko stand next to each other on the campus where I taught, with the female producing pungent and toxic seeds called “fruits.” (On my way across campus one day I picked up some fallen gingko fruits and absentmindedly during a conversation put them in my jacket pocket; subsequently I forgot about them, and then I had to have the jacket dry-cleaned to remove their odor) Interestingly, the Ginkgo biloba leaves, which turn a brilliant yellow in fall, are not toxic and have are heralded as a memory-boosting supplement and tea—which I could have used to remember placing those fruits in my pocket.
What was I saying?
Oh! Yes, some plant species endure; others don’t for a variety of reasons, one of which is human interference. And in California, where the Braunton’s milkvetch plants grow, humans interfere, supposedly for the good of the plant species, but definitely to the detriment of forests and houses, as the January, 2025, fires reveal. Save a bush; destroy 12,000 structures, I say. Is this an example of “not seeing the forest for the bushes”?
Okay, let’s put some blame on the plant here. “Braunton's milkvetch generally occurs below 2100 feet (640 m) in elevation, on south-, west-, and east-facing slopes, in open areas within chaparral. It is often found growing in disturbed areas such as burn areas, along fire roads or fuel breaks, and in areas that have been cleared by some means and where competition is low. This plant was historically found in gravelly clay soils overlaying granite sandstone, but is now found often associated with carbonate soils derived from scattered limestone lenses, or on noncarbonates at down-wash sites (Skinner 1991; USFWS 1999).” ** It grows in California. Not in Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona. California. Period! A single state. But the good news for environmentalists who “saved” the plant by shutting down the upgrades to the electrical system, is that the bush 'is often found growing in disturbed areas such as burn areas, along fire roads or fuel breaks, and in areas that have been cleared by some means and where competition is low.' The devastating fires that just caused 150 billion dollars in damage and displaced many while killing more than a dozen people have opened new lands for Braunton's milkvetch to colonize.
Are Humans More Important than a Plant?
Sure, we depend on plants to survive. They turn the Sun’s energy into food. But the planet, as I wrote above, is lush and getting lusher. And we consume more than one kind of plant, and to my knowledge, no one eats the Braunton's milkvetch. That it plays some role in California’s ecosystems is probably undeniable, but what exactly that role is or its significance beyond providing nectar for bees escapes me. The Canadian milkvetch has been used to make a poultice, but I believe that’s a different variety. Maybe there will be environmentalists mourning its eventual loss, but assuredly there are now humans mourning the loss of friends and family.
Okay, so every species adds to the grand interconnectedness of life on Earth. In that sense, losing California’s milkvetch is a loss and maybe a harbinger of declining biodiversity. I’m still not convinced that halting an upgrade to California’s electrical grid was prudent. Humans are also part of the environment—well not those humans made extinct by the fires.
Sure, also, I’m botanically challenged. So, I’ll acknowledge that there are those who see what I cannot see in my ignorance. Plants don’t have to serve humans directly. There are intricate networks underlying all life, and Braunton's milkvetch lies somewhere on some network. But those humans were also part of a network.
*https://nypost.com/2025/01/14/us-news/california-bureaucrats-halted-pacific-palisades-fire-safety-project-to-save-endangered-shrub/
**Center for Plant Conservation. https://saveplants.org/plant-profile/374/Astragalus-brauntonii/Brauntons-Milkvetch/
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