Taxon Report

Noccaea fendleri (A. Gray) Holub ssp. californica (S. Watson) Al-Shehbaz & M. Koch

Kneeland Prairie pennycress

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Noccaea fendleri ssp. californica, commonly known as Kneeland Prairie pennycress, is a perennial herb in the Brassicaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Coastal prairie, growing at elevations from 760 to 815 meters. Noccaea fendleri ssp. californica is ranked 1B.1, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Seriously threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Noccaea fendleri (A. Gray) Holub ssp. californica (S. Watson) Al-Shehbaz & M. Koch
Common Name:	Kneeland Prairie pennycress
Family:	Brassicaceae
Element Code:	PDBRA2P041
USDA Plants Symbol:	NOFEC
Synonyms/Other Names:	Thlaspi montanum L. var. californicum (Wats.) P. Holmgren Thlaspi californicum Wats.

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial herb
Blooming Period: May-Jun	May-Jun
Elevation:	760-815 (2495-2675)
General Habitats:	Coastal prairie
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	1B.1
Global Rank:	G5?T1
State Rank:	S1
State List:	None
Fed List:	FE
Other Status:	SB_UCSC
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	1
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	1
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	0

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Humboldt (HUM)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Iaqua Buttes (4012368)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	3
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	1	100 %
Development	1	100%
Grazing	1	100%
Road/trail construction/maint.	1	100%

Notes



Known from one occurrence at Kneeland Prairie; other reported occurrences are mis-identified T. montanum. Potentially threatened by road maintenance and airport expansion; voluntarily protected by landowner. See Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 17:365 (1882) for original description, and Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 21(2):80-81 (1971) for revised nomenclature.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 16 November 2025].