Oh those northern California road workers.  Mistaking a rare plant that can grow up to three feet high for a weed, the beautification weed timmers diligently whacked it.  maybe they had recently spent time with another sort of weed?

But now they've been warned to be more ecologically sensitive by the Marin County director of public works.
 
Uh, wouldn't it be more logical just to save the seeds and plant these rarities in a place not drowning in auto fumes?  Or, this being northern California, will autos and road workers soon be barred from this stretch of road to preserve the plants?
 
Ethel C. Fenig   2 4 05