California floristic province
The California floristic province (CFP) is a floristic province located on the Pacific coast of North America, including most of California as well as parts of neighboring states, enclosed by the Pacific Ocean to the west and several mountain ranges to the east. The province has a Mediterranean climate characterized by winter rainfall and summer drought. It is a biodiversity hotspot with distinctive flora, including over 3,000 species of vascular plants, 60% of which are endemic, and is especially known for the giant sequoia tree and its close relative the coast redwood, and for many endemic species which thrive in serpentine soil. Many native species are under threat, especially from wilderness destruction caused by the rapid expansion of agriculture and urban areas, and colonization by invasive species.
With an area of about 294,000 km2 (114,000 sq mi), the California floristic province includes 70% of California and extends into southwestern Oregon, a small part of western Nevada and northern Baja California. It belongs to the Madrean region of the Boreal floristic kingdom, and is bordered on its east by the Great Basin province, to the south and southwest by the Sonoran province (which includes the Mojave, Colorado, Sonoran, and Baja California deserts), and to the north by the Vancouverian province of the Rocky Mountain region, though the border is not well defined and some botanists include Oregon and Northern California within the Rocky Mountain region.