Flora of Borrego Springs Desert Floor Survey on 14 March 2017

Flora of Borrego Springs Desert Floor Survey on 14 March 2017

Introduction
Survey Results and Analysis
Checklist

Introduction

The authors spent a day in 90 degree plus heat on 14 March 2017 to do eight quick spot surveys of a number of different places on the desert floor at prime time in a very good flowering year, when nearly all the species could be determined with high reliability. The goals were to obtain more GPS points for areas on the Borrego Desert Floor, for improved species mapping, and to characterize the load of non-native species in this opportune year while the Sahara Mustard, Brassica tournefortii, has been knocked back by drought. But as if often the case with any scientific investigation, the survey yielded some other interesting results.
The first five surveys were done in a uniform manner, surveying the desert floor for an area approximately, but nowhere near exactly, 100 feet x 100 feet. The three subsequent surveys were done differently, including some hillside habitat above the desert floor in two of them (#5b and #7), and surveying in two different spots in one of them (#6), and thus the numbers from those surveys can not be directly compared to the first five surveys.
The survey areas are shown in Fig. 1, and described in Table 1.
As a result of the compilation of results here, we plan on returning to most of these survey areas to make sure that species found in most of the other survey areas, but missing from one or two survey areas, really are missing from those areas, rather than our just failing to record the species in those areas.

Fig. 1. Google Earth map showing the areas surveyed on 14 March 2017 (white circles), identified with a # sign with the survey number given in Table 1, mostly above the white circles, with the number of species found in each area mostly given to the right of the white circles. The size of the white circles is unrelated to the area surveyed.
Table 1. Survey areas with number of species found

# Hdr^{^} # species Locale
1 HO 29 Hoberg Road
2 BS1 27 Borrego Springs Road near Bighorn Road
3 BS2 38 Borrego Springs Road just south of its junction with Henderson Canyon Road
4 HC1 27 Horse Camp Road just north of the last orchard
5a HC2 43 Horse Camp Road just south of the Horse Camp (desert floor)
5b HC3 7 Horse Camp Road just south of the Horse Camp (additional species on the hill immediately to the west)^*
6 HCR 20 Henderson Canyon Road at sunflower field^*
7 CC 41 Coyote Creek Road hillside survey and adjacent desert floor^*

^{^} This column gives the header label in the checklist below that identifies each survey area.
^* These surveys were not done in a comparable fashion to the first five surveys, and hence the numbers of species can not be directly compared to those surveys.
Survey Results and Analysis

Non-native Percent Cover

In all the surveys, we estimated that the total non-native coverage was on the order of just 5% of the total area. To our surprise, nearly all of that was due to Schismus, with Brassica tournefortii and Erodium cicutarium being fairly minor contributors. We had expected those latter two species to contribute more to the non-native load.
The low non-native coverage was especially surprising given that there are huge monocultures of both B. tournefortii and Sisymbrium irio within a short distance of survey site #2. Those monocultures are often specific to certain real estate parcels, implying that past land use resulted in conversion from a desert flora to a non-native flora.
Comparison of species counts

In the first five surveys, three areas have species counts of 27, 27, and 29, and two areas have species counts of 38 and 43. The first three are typical desert floor habitat. The area with a species count of 38 is at the edge of the alluvial fan from Henderson Canyon, and hence has species typical of both the alluvial fan and the desert floor. The area with a species count of 43 is at the base of the mountains to the west, and hence has additional species from that habitat. In fact, a quick survey of a single hill to the immediate west quickly found 7 additional species.
Of the three surveys with typical desert floor habitat, the total number of species from all three surveys is 47, indicating that the habitat varies significantly even on the desert floor proper. Starting with the Hobert Road survey with 29 species as a baseline, there are an additional 10 species in the survey at Borrego Springs Road near Bighorn Road, for a total of 39 species from those two survey areas. There are an additional eight species in the survey at the Horse Camp Road just north of the last orchard, for a total of 47 unique species from all three areas.
Other survey results

There are some other interesting results from an analysis of the checklist below. Here are a few, which may or may not be statistically significant, but would be interesting to pursue further with additional surveys.

Erodium texanum and E. cicutarium are somewhat anti-correlated in the five uniform surveys. I.e., if there are large numbers of E. cicutarium, there are small numbers of E. texanum, and vice versa.
Chaenactis fremontii and C. stevioides are completely anti-correlated in our five uniform surveys. This may be because the only survey that found C. stevioides was farther away from alluvial fans and hillsides than in the other four surveys.

Checklist for Borrego Springs Desert Floor Survey Areas on 14 March 2017

See:

Notes on the Scientific Names Used At This Site and
Information about the order in which the species are presented, and the links from the Scientific Name and Common Name.

An asterisk before the common name indicates a non-native species.
The column with header #Bl gives the total number of plants in bloom seen on the whole day from all areas, up to a maximum of 99 plants, compiled from memory a day later. This includes a stop along Borrego Dump Road where no survey was conducted. Some species have a question mark on the number, since we couldn't recall for sure how many plants were in bloom.
The survey areas, with their abbreviation in the column names, along with the number of species found in each spot, are given in Table 1, in the same order as given in the checklist from left to right.
The column with header # Plants gives the number of plants found in each area, up to a maximum of 99 plants. If no estimate of the abundance was made, an x is given in that column.
This checklist is by no means complete for the entire Borrego Desert Floor; it lists only 107 taxa, compared to 270 taxa in the complete list.
Version for printing, without lines and other text on this page: html (4 pages) or pdf Clickbook booklet (1 double-sided pages). (See printing instructions for an explanation of these options)

# Fam Scientific Name (*)Common Name #Bl # Plants
HO BS1 BS2 HC1 HC2 HCR HC3 CC
1 Aca Justicia californica chuparosa 3? 3
2 Ama Amaranthus albus *tumble pigweed 99
3 Ast Ambrosia acanthicarpa bur-ragweed 1
4 Ast Ambrosia dumosa burroweed 10? 20 3 5 3 x
5 Ast Ambrosia salsola var. salsola cheesebush 2 1 1
6 Ast Bebbia juncea var. aspera sweetbush 5
7 Ast Chaenactis carphoclinia var. carphoclinia pebble pincushion 3 50
8 Ast Chaenactis fremontii Fremont pincushion 99 5 20 99 x 1
9 Ast Chaenactis stevioides desert pincushion 20 99
10 Ast Encelia farinosa brittlebush 4 1 3
11 Ast Geraea canescens hairy desert-sunflower 99 2 99
12 Ast Helianthus petiolaris ssp. canescens gray desert sunflower 10 10
13 Ast Logfia depressa dwarf filago 3 x
14 Ast Logfia filaginoides California filago 99 99 99
15 Ast Malacothrix glabrata desert dandelion 99 99 99 99 99 99 x
16 Ast Palafoxia arida var. arida Spanish needle 1 2 2
17 Ast Perityle emoryi Emory's rock-daisy 99 1 99
18 Ast Rafinesquia neomexicana desert chicory 99 28 1 99 1
19 Ast Stephanomeria pauciflora wire-lettuce 1
20 Ast Stylocline gnaphaloides everlasting nest-straw 1
21 Ast Volutaria tubuliflora *Mediterranean desert knapweed 5 8 10
22 Bor Cryptantha angustifolia narrow-leaved cryptantha 99 99 99 99 99 99 5 99
23 Bor Cryptantha barbigera var. barbigera bearded cryptantha 10 2 2 2 4
24 Bor Cryptantha ganderi Gander's cryptantha 1
25 Bor Cryptantha intermedia var. intermedia popcorn flower 2 5
26 Bor Cryptantha maritima Guadalupe cryptantha 20 5 20
27 Bor Cryptantha micrantha var. micrantha red-root cryptantha 99 20 99
28 Bor Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora whispering bells 5 20 3
29 Bor Nama demissa var. demissa purple mat 20 50 1
30 Bor Pectocarya heterocarpa chuckwalla pectocarya 99 99 50 x 50
31 Bor Pectocarya peninsularis Baja pectocarya 99 99 20 x
32 Bor Pectocarya platycarpa broad-fruited combseed 16 16
33 Bor Pectocarya recurvata curvenut combseed 1 1 1 x
34 Bor Eucrypta micrantha 99 99
35 Bor Phacelia crenulata var. minutiflora little-flowered heliotrope phacelia 70 70
36 Bor Phacelia distans common phacelia 99 99 1 17 4 x
37 Bor Phacelia ivesiana Ives' phacelia 1
38 Bor Tiquilia palmeri Palmer's coldenia 2
39 Bor Tiquilia plicata plicate coldenia 5
40 Bra Brassica tournefortii *Sahara mustard 30? 8 30 15 17 50 2
41 Bra Caulanthus lasiophyllus California mustard 2 3
42 Bra Descurainia pinnata western tansy-mustard ? 25
43 Bra Dithyrea californica spectacle-pod 1 1
44 Bra Lepidium lasiocarpum ssp. lasiocarpum hairy-podded pepper-grass 1 1
45 Bra Sisymbrium irio *London rocket 5 20 10
46 Cac Cylindropuntia bigelovii teddy-bear cholla 40
47 Cac Cylindropuntia echinocarpa silver cholla 15
48 Cac Cylindropuntia ganderi Gander's cholla 15 40
49 Cac Ferocactus cylindraceus California barrel cactus 1
50 Cam Nemacladus glanduliferus glandular nemacladus 10 15
51 Car Achyronychia cooperi frost mat 99 99 5 1
52 Che Atriplex canescens var. laciniata Caleb saltbush 2
53 Che Salsola tragus *Russian thistle 1
54 Cra Crassula connata pygmy-weed 99
55 Eup Chamaesyce polycarpa small-seeded spurge 2 1 1 5
56 Eup Croton californicus California croton ? 1
57 Eup Ditaxis lanceolata narrowleaf ditaxis ? 20
58 Fab Acmispon maritimus var. brevivexillus short-bannered coastal lotus 2 1 1
59 Fab Acmispon strigosus strigose lotus 5 5
60 Fab Astragalus didymocarpus var. dispermus dwarf white milk-vetch 5 1 2
61 Fab Astragalus lentiginosus var. borreganus Borrego milk-vetch 1 1
62 Fab Lupinus arizonicus Arizona lupine 99 30 3 8 99
63 Fab Lupinus concinnus bajada lupine 1 1
64 Fab Lupinus shockleyi desert lupine 10
65 Fab Psorothamnus emoryi Emory's indigo-bush 1 10 10
66 Fab Psorothamnus schottii indigo bush 5 10 2 2 15
67 Fou Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens ocotillo 1 10
68 Ger Erodium cicutarium *redstem filaree 99 10 3
69 Ger Erodium texanum Texas filaree 1 50 1 1
70 Kra Krameria bicolor white rhatany ? 1 5 2
71 Lam Hyptis emoryi desert-lavender 1 1 x
72 Lam Salvia columbariae chia 10 20
73 Loa Mentzelia affinis yellow blazing star 25 25
74 Loa Mentzelia involucrata bracted blazing star 8 8
75 Loa Petalonyx thurberi ssp. thurberi Thurber's sandpaper-plant 2 2 3
76 Mal Eremalche exilis white mallow 99 99 30
77 Mal Eremalche rotundifolia desert five-spot 3 3
78 Mon Calyptridium monandrum sand cress ? 99 99 99 10 40
79 Nyc Abronia villosa var. villosa hairy sand-verbena 99 25 25 30 40
80 Nyc Allionia incarnata var. incarnata small-flowered trailing four o'clock 1 1
81 Ona Camissoniopsis pallida ssp. pallida pale suncup 99 50 99 99 10 x 1
82 Ona Chylismia claviformis ssp. peirsonii brown-eyed primrose 99 50 99 50 x 10 99
83 Ona Eremothera chamaenerioides long-fruit suncup 1 1
84 Ona Eulobus californicus California suncup 99 99 6 20 99 99 2
85 Ona Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides dune primrose 99 99
86 Pap Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. minutiflora small-flowered poppy 30 30 x
87 Pap Eschscholzia parishii Parish's poppy 99 3 99
88 Phr Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii Bigelow's monkeyflower 99 1 99
89 Pla Plantago ovata desert plantain ? 5
90 Pol Aliciella latifolia ssp. latifolia broad-leaf gilia 2 15
91 Pol Eriastrum diffusum miniature woolly-star 1
92 Pol Gilia stellata star gilia 5 1 5
93 Pol Loeseliastrum matthewsii desert calico 10 2 50 8 10 99
94 Pol Saltugilia australis southern gilia 1
95 Pol Chorizanthe brevicornu var. brevicornu brittle spineflower 25 1
96 Pol Eriogonum thomasii Thomas' buckwheat 5 1 2 50
97 Pol Eriogonum trichopes little desert trumpet 7
98 Sol Datura discolor desert thornapple 1 1 1
99 Sol Nicotiana obtusifolia desert tobacco 1
100 Sol Physalis crassifolia thick-leaved ground cherry 1
101 Zyg Fagonia laevis California fagonia 1 1 99
102 Zyg Larrea tridentata creosote bush 10 50 40 35 20
103 Aga Hesperocallis undulata desert lily 40 40 21 33 23
104 Poa Aristida adscensionis six-weeks three-awn 5
105 Poa Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoides needle grama 50 50
106 Poa Hilaria rigida big galleta 4 4
107 Poa Schismus barbatus *Mediterranean schismus 99 99 99 99 x 99

#	Hdr^{^}	# species	Locale
1	HO	29	Hoberg Road
2	BS1	27	Borrego Springs Road near Bighorn Road
3	BS2	38	Borrego Springs Road just south of its junction with Henderson Canyon Road
4	HC1	27	Horse Camp Road just north of the last orchard
5a	HC2	43	Horse Camp Road just south of the Horse Camp (desert floor)
5b	HC3	7	Horse Camp Road just south of the Horse Camp (additional species on the hill immediately to the west)^*
6	HCR	20	Henderson Canyon Road at sunflower field^*
7	CC	41	Coyote Creek Road hillside survey and adjacent desert floor^*

#	Fam	Scientific Name	(*)Common Name	#Bl	# Plants
HO	BS1	BS2	HC1	HC2	HCR	HC3	CC
1	Aca	Justicia californica	chuparosa	3?					3
2	Ama	Amaranthus albus	*tumble pigweed							99
3	Ast	Ambrosia acanthicarpa	bur-ragweed							1
4	Ast	Ambrosia dumosa	burroweed	10?	20	3	5	3				x
5	Ast	Ambrosia salsola var. salsola	cheesebush		2			1				1
6	Ast	Bebbia juncea var. aspera	sweetbush									5
7	Ast	Chaenactis carphoclinia var. carphoclinia	pebble pincushion								3	50
8	Ast	Chaenactis fremontii	Fremont pincushion	99	5		20	99	x			1
9	Ast	Chaenactis stevioides	desert pincushion	20		99
10	Ast	Encelia farinosa	brittlebush	4				1	3
11	Ast	Geraea canescens	hairy desert-sunflower	99					2	99
12	Ast	Helianthus petiolaris ssp. canescens	gray desert sunflower	10						10
13	Ast	Logfia depressa	dwarf filago	3					x
14	Ast	Logfia filaginoides	California filago	99	99		99
15	Ast	Malacothrix glabrata	desert dandelion	99	99	99	99	99	99			x
16	Ast	Palafoxia arida var. arida	Spanish needle	1				2		2
17	Ast	Perityle emoryi	Emory's rock-daisy	99					1			99
18	Ast	Rafinesquia neomexicana	desert chicory	99	28	1	99		1
19	Ast	Stephanomeria pauciflora	wire-lettuce						1
20	Ast	Stylocline gnaphaloides	everlasting nest-straw		1
21	Ast	Volutaria tubuliflora	*Mediterranean desert knapweed	5			8					10
22	Bor	Cryptantha angustifolia	narrow-leaved cryptantha	99	99	99	99	99	99	5		99
23	Bor	Cryptantha barbigera var. barbigera	bearded cryptantha	10	2		2		2			4
24	Bor	Cryptantha ganderi	Gander's cryptantha	1
25	Bor	Cryptantha intermedia var. intermedia	popcorn flower	2						5
26	Bor	Cryptantha maritima	Guadalupe cryptantha	20	5							20
27	Bor	Cryptantha micrantha var. micrantha	red-root cryptantha	99			20		99
28	Bor	Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora	whispering bells	5					20			3
29	Bor	Nama demissa var. demissa	purple mat	20			50		1
30	Bor	Pectocarya heterocarpa	chuckwalla pectocarya	99	99	50	x	50
31	Bor	Pectocarya peninsularis	Baja pectocarya	99	99	20	x
32	Bor	Pectocarya platycarpa	broad-fruited combseed	16				16
33	Bor	Pectocarya recurvata	curvenut combseed	1	1			1	x
34	Bor	Eucrypta micrantha		99							99
35	Bor	Phacelia crenulata var. minutiflora	little-flowered heliotrope phacelia	70								70
36	Bor	Phacelia distans	common phacelia	99	99	1	17	4	x
37	Bor	Phacelia ivesiana	Ives' phacelia	1
38	Bor	Tiquilia palmeri	Palmer's coldenia									2
39	Bor	Tiquilia plicata	plicate coldenia							5
40	Bra	Brassica tournefortii	*Sahara mustard	30?	8	30	15	17	50			2
41	Bra	Caulanthus lasiophyllus	California mustard	2							3
42	Bra	Descurainia pinnata	western tansy-mustard	?							25
43	Bra	Dithyrea californica	spectacle-pod	1								1
44	Bra	Lepidium lasiocarpum ssp. lasiocarpum	hairy-podded pepper-grass						1			1
45	Bra	Sisymbrium irio	*London rocket		5	20			10
46	Cac	Cylindropuntia bigelovii	teddy-bear cholla						40
47	Cac	Cylindropuntia echinocarpa	silver cholla				15
48	Cac	Cylindropuntia ganderi	Gander's cholla		15			40
49	Cac	Ferocactus cylindraceus	California barrel cactus						1
50	Cam	Nemacladus glanduliferus	glandular nemacladus	10								15
51	Car	Achyronychia cooperi	frost mat	99			99	5		1
52	Che	Atriplex canescens var. laciniata	Caleb saltbush							2
53	Che	Salsola tragus	*Russian thistle							1
54	Cra	Crassula connata	pygmy-weed		99
55	Eup	Chamaesyce polycarpa	small-seeded spurge	2	1		1				5
56	Eup	Croton californicus	California croton	?			1
57	Eup	Ditaxis lanceolata	narrowleaf ditaxis	?								20
58	Fab	Acmispon maritimus var. brevivexillus	short-bannered coastal lotus	2					1			1
59	Fab	Acmispon strigosus	strigose lotus	5								5
60	Fab	Astragalus didymocarpus var. dispermus	dwarf white milk-vetch	5		1		2
61	Fab	Astragalus lentiginosus var. borreganus	Borrego milk-vetch	1						1
62	Fab	Lupinus arizonicus	Arizona lupine	99		30	3		8			99
63	Fab	Lupinus concinnus	bajada lupine	1					1
64	Fab	Lupinus shockleyi	desert lupine	10
65	Fab	Psorothamnus emoryi	Emory's indigo-bush	1			10	10
66	Fab	Psorothamnus schottii	indigo bush	5	10		2		2			15
67	Fou	Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens	ocotillo	1					10
68	Ger	Erodium cicutarium	*redstem filaree		99	10			3
69	Ger	Erodium texanum	Texas filaree		1	50	1		1
70	Kra	Krameria bicolor	white rhatany	?			1	5	2
71	Lam	Hyptis emoryi	desert-lavender	1					1			x
72	Lam	Salvia columbariae	chia	10							20
73	Loa	Mentzelia affinis	yellow blazing star	25		25
74	Loa	Mentzelia involucrata	bracted blazing star	8								8
75	Loa	Petalonyx thurberi ssp. thurberi	Thurber's sandpaper-plant				2	2	3
76	Mal	Eremalche exilis	white mallow	99		99				30
77	Mal	Eremalche rotundifolia	desert five-spot	3								3
78	Mon	Calyptridium monandrum	sand cress	?	99	99	99	10	40
79	Nyc	Abronia villosa var. villosa	hairy sand-verbena	99		25	25	30		40
80	Nyc	Allionia incarnata var. incarnata	small-flowered trailing four o'clock	1								1
81	Ona	Camissoniopsis pallida ssp. pallida	pale suncup	99	50	99	99	10	x	1
82	Ona	Chylismia claviformis ssp. peirsonii	brown-eyed primrose	99		50	99	50	x	10		99
83	Ona	Eremothera chamaenerioides	long-fruit suncup	1					1
84	Ona	Eulobus californicus	California suncup	99	99	6	20	99	99			2
85	Ona	Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides	dune primrose	99						99
86	Pap	Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. minutiflora	small-flowered poppy	30			30		x
87	Pap	Eschscholzia parishii	Parish's poppy	99					3			99
88	Phr	Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii	Bigelow's monkeyflower	99			1					99
89	Pla	Plantago ovata	desert plantain	?		5
90	Pol	Aliciella latifolia ssp. latifolia	broad-leaf gilia	2								15
91	Pol	Eriastrum diffusum	miniature woolly-star	1
92	Pol	Gilia stellata	star gilia	5			1		5
93	Pol	Loeseliastrum matthewsii	desert calico	10	2	50	8	10	99
94	Pol	Saltugilia australis	southern gilia							1
95	Pol	Chorizanthe brevicornu var. brevicornu	brittle spineflower		25							1
96	Pol	Eriogonum thomasii	Thomas' buckwheat	5			1		2			50
97	Pol	Eriogonum trichopes	little desert trumpet			7
98	Sol	Datura discolor	desert thornapple	1				1				1
99	Sol	Nicotiana obtusifolia	desert tobacco									1
100	Sol	Physalis crassifolia	thick-leaved ground cherry									1
101	Zyg	Fagonia laevis	California fagonia	1							1	99
102	Zyg	Larrea tridentata	creosote bush	10	50	40	35			20
103	Aga	Hesperocallis undulata	desert lily	40		40	21	33	23
104	Poa	Aristida adscensionis	six-weeks three-awn									5
105	Poa	Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoides	needle grama	50								50
106	Poa	Hilaria rigida	big galleta				4					4
107	Poa	Schismus barbatus	*Mediterranean schismus		99	99	99	99	x	99

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Plants of Southern California: Regional Floras

Copyright © 2017 by Tom Chester, Nancy Accola, Walt Fidler, RT Hawke, Don Rideout, Karyn Sauber, and Myrna Wosk (authors in alphabetical order after the first author)
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to us at this source:
http://tchester.org/sd/plants/floras/borrego_springs_desert_floor_survey_170314.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Last update: 18 March 2017