A bright yellow aster bloom adorns three small isolated locations at the UC Hopland Research & Extension Center.  Colusa Layia (Layia septentrionalis) is an annual herb that is endemic to California and is only found in 9 counties, with Mendocino County being one of those.  It is included in the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants and is rated as 1B.2 (rare,threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere).  This plant qualifies for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) protection.  The plant is currently blooming at HREC, and the blooms are quite thick and robust this year.