Long rare and finally presumed extinct more than a dozen years ago, one of California's largest and most showy native clovers has been rescued and propagated by UC Davis researchers. A solitary clover with tall, erect, white-tipped purple flowers was discovered on the edge of a recently bulldozed track on a Sonoma County grassy hillside three years ago by John Maron and Peter Connors, colleagues at UC Davis Bodega Marine Reserve and Laboratory. With cooperation from the landowner and the careful attention of Connors and Maron, the single plant survived close encounters with a bulldozer and a tractor and produced 92 seeds. Half of those are deposited in a national seed bank. With an eye toward eventually re-establishing a self-sustaining population, Connors successfully germinated some of the remaining seeds, introduced a symbiont bacteria into the plants' soil, and has raised two generations of the annual Showy Indian Clover. Connors and Maron are investigating the effects of competition with invading clovers and other nonnative grassland species, as well as the effects of herbivory. Connors' efforts to save this species have lead him to suspect that other native species in California's rich native grasslands may be in similar danger due to grazing, competition with nonnative grasses and weeds, and other habitat changes.