Scientists find rare plant species, unseen in almost 70 years, in middle of California park

Botanists have stumbled across an extremely rare plant not seen in northern California for nearly 70 years.

The caper-fruited tropidocarpum, a green plant with a small, yellow flower, was found on a ridge top in Contra Costa County’s Vasco Hills Regional Preserve last March. A member of the mustard family, the native plant is considered “rare, threatened or endangered.”