|
San Gabriel Mountains D7, Islip Saddle to Eagles Roost | 
|
| Fig. 1. Pictures taken on the PCT below Mount Williamson, 13 August 2013, by Tom Chester, of the tiny but stunning-up-close flowers of Acanthoscyphus parishii var. parishii, starry puncturebract, aka Oxytheca parishii var. parishii, Parish's oxytheca. Click on the pictures to get larger versions. | ||
| Segment Start | Segment End | Segment Length | Elevation (feet) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Max | Range | |||
| Islip Saddle, 6600 feet | Eagles Roost Picnic Area, 6600 feet | 4.0 miles | 6600 | 7900 | 1300 |
Introduction
Survey Dates
The Trail Plant Checklist
Introduction
See The Flora of the Pacific Crest Trail: Overview for an Introduction to these plant checklists, and D. San Gabriel Mountains for an Introduction to the San Gabriel Mountain section.
Fig. 2. Trail Map for the PCT through the San Gabriel Mountains, from USDA Forest Service Interactive Map.
The trail climbs up the slope of Mount Williamson. At a saddle, a side trail goes to the top of that peak. This is a nice side trip with excellent views of the desert. Plant wise, one can watch an amazing transformation in the inflorescences of the Eriogonum wrighitii var. subscaposum plants. At the beginning of the trail to Mt. Williamson, this species has its usual appearance with a branched inflorescence. Near the top, the inflorescence gets shorter and shorter, and at the top some plants look nearly identical to those of Eriogonum kennedyi, while being surrounded by plants that still have at least a very short branched inflorescence! There is no better location than here that illustrates the wisdom of the following statement by the Eriogonum expert James Reveal in the Flora of North America:
A clear distinction between [Eriogonum wrightii] var. subscaposum and E. kennedyi is not possible in southern California.
FNA: Eriogonum wrightii
Interesting plants on this section of trail include a number of rare plants, some of which are Linanthus concinnus, Hulsea, and Mimulus johnstonii. Ground Cone is not a rare plant, but is rarely found in southern California.
Survey Dates
| Date | Surveyors | # Species recorded |
|---|---|---|
| early 2012 | Walt Fidler and Jane Tirrell | |
| 8 June 2013 | Michael Charters | 42* |
| 15 June 2013 | RT and Shaun Hawke | 81 |
| 10 August 2013 | Walt Fidler | |
| 13 August 2013 | Jim Adams, Adrienne Ballwey, Tom Chester, Walt Fidler and Jane Tirrell | 91+ |
* The number did not include grasses, and species that could not be identified securely.
+ The number would have been significantly lower if we did not already have the Hawke list of plants in order along the trail from 15 June. We saw no remnants at all for 7 of the species on the Hawke list, which were therefore not included in our total number. A number of other species would not have been noticed without all five of us intently hunting for them at their listed location, since they were mostly dead sticks.
The total number of taxa from all surveys is 98, of which 96 are identified to species. Two taxa need further observations to determine them to species.
The Trail Plant Checklist
The Plant Checklist is available in four different formats:
- Illustrated Family Order List from Calflora, with two thumbnail pictures for every species (96 species; does not include the two not fully identified to species. Note the checkbox at right that allows a sort in family order instead of scientific name order, or to sort by bloom start month. Check Show photo service links and then click on Display to get links to all Calphotos et al pictures.
- Species in Order Along the Trail, from Islip Saddle to Eagles Roost, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos (98 species)
- Species Seen on or near the Trail in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos (98 species)
- Species Seen on or near the Trail, along with species vouchered from this general area, in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos (178 species)
Separate condensed print versions of just the checklist names are available for all except for the Calflora thumbnail picture version, as a link on each of those pages.
See also Michael Charters Photo Gallery from 8 June 2013.