Flora of Queen Mountain Area, Joshua Tree National Park This is a preliminary, working list of the flora of this area, compiled primarily from vouchers retrieved from a search of the Consortium of California Herbaria on 20 November 2011, augmented by species recalled from memory, or present in my pictures, from an entirely hiking trip on 18 November 2011.
This area was very dry on the hiking trip, with the plants in their typical late summer mostly-dead-looking form. The only sign of recent rain was a few holes on the top that held water. I dug in the wash down below without finding any moistness at all. The only species in bloom were a very few plants of Eriogonum inflatum.
Nonetheless, this is a pretty spectacular area, with slopes covered with Opuntia chlorotica and Yucca schidigera, the densest collection I've ever seen of these two species.
The following pictures show how dry the area was during this hike, and how beautiful some of the slopes are. Click on the thumbnails to get larger versions of each picture.
The vouchers were taken mostly at face value. Be aware that some of them are likely misdetermined. Since I have almost no familiarity at all with the flora of this area, it is difficult for me to know which taxa are obviously misdetermined.
No time was spent to identify plants securely on the hiking trip. Many of the determinations were just taken to be the likely one, based on the voucher list. It is quite possible that some of my "determinations from memory of a fleeting glimpse" are incorrect. Some of the species were added from the original versions of the panoramic pictures above; sometimes this can be problematic.
Hence the following caveat should be taken quite seriously:
This is a working list, about which I make no guarantees at all. Use at your own risk!
This Checklist is almost surely quite incomplete, since lists compiled from the random vouchering process are almost always incomplete. A glance at the list below shows that some common species observed on the hiking trip, such as creosote, Larrea tridentata, are missing from the voucher list.
The vouchers were obtained by a geographic search of the area from 33.98° to 34.08° north latitude, and -116.26° to -116.05° east longitude, augmented by four non-georeferenced vouchers with locality of Queen Mountain or Queen Valley. The locality field was examined, and vouchers not from this area were tossed. Taxa determined only to the species were assigned to a vouchered subspecies if that was the only subspecies vouchered in this area. One voucher taxon, of Chrysopsis villosa var. hispida, was ignored since it was almost surely misdetermined, and I had no idea of its likely true determination.
The coordinates of the vouchers are shown as the filled red squares on the following map, provided by the Consortium of California Herbaria:
The search area is not centered on Queen Mountain in order to include the highest nearby mountain area, Quail Mountain. At 5813 feet elevation, its summit is just slightly higher than the 5687 foot Queen Mountain, and my guess was that the species would be more similar there than extending the search box to the east to Twentynine Palms Mountain, whose highest point is 4562 feet.
The hiking trip was from the O'Dell Parking Area to the west summit of Queen Mountain, shown in pink on the above map, from 4450 to 5650 feet elevation. I recalled or photographed 54 taxa, of which 16, 30%, were not in the voucher list.
The total list contains 249 taxa, 233 taxa from vouchers plus 16 taxa from the hiking trip.
The Checklist is sorted first by category - ferns, dicots, and monocots - and then by family and scientific name. The JM Family and Scientific Name are from the 1993 first edition Jepson Manual. An asterisk before the Common Name indicates a non-native taxon.
The column #Pls gives the minimum number of plants I recall seeing, up to a maximum number given of 99.
The column #Vch gives the number of vouchers for each taxon.
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# JM Family Scientific Name (*)Common Name #Pls #Vch 1 Dryopter Dryopteris arguta California wood fern 1 2 Dryopter Woodsia plummerae Plummer's woodsia 1 3 Pteridac Cheilanthes covillei beady lipfern 7 4 Pteridac Cheilanthes parryi woolly lipfern 1 1 5 Pteridac Pellaea mucronata var. californica California cliff-brake 1 6 Pteridac Pentagramma triangularis ssp. triangularis goldback fern 1 7 Cupressa Juniperus californica California juniper 20 5 8 Ephedrac Ephedra nevadensis Nevada ephedra 30 1 9 Pinaceae Pinus monophylla pinyon pine 15 2 10 Amaranth Amaranthus fimbriatus fringed amaranth 10 1 11 Amaranth Amaranthus torreyi sandhill amaranth 1 12 Anacardi Rhus trilobata basketbush 5 13 Apiaceae Lomatium mohavense Mojave lomatium 5 14 Apocynac Amsonia tomentosa woolly amsonia 12 15 Asclepia Matelea parvifolia spearleaf 3 1 16 Asterace Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus var. sphaerocephalus goldenhead 2 17 Asterace Adenophyllum cooperi Cooper's dogweed 1 18 Asterace Adenophyllum porophylloides San Felipe dogweed 20 1 19 Asterace Ambrosia acanthicarpa bur-ragweed 1 20 Asterace Ambrosia dumosa burroweed 5 21 Asterace Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. albula white mugwort 2 2 22 Asterace Baccharis brachyphylla short-leaved baccharis 5 23 Asterace Baccharis salicifolia mule fat 1 24 Asterace Baileya pleniradiata woolly marigold 4 25 Asterace Brickellia arguta California spear-leaved brickellia 3 26 Asterace Brickellia arguta var. arguta California spear-leaved brickellia 1 27 Asterace Brickellia californica California brickellbush 5 1 28 Asterace Brickellia desertorum desert brickellia 1 29 Asterace Brickellia incana woolly brickellia 7 30 Asterace Chaenactis fremontii Fremont pincushion 2 31 Asterace Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. mohavensis Mohave common rabbitbrush 2 32 Asterace Chrysothamnus teretifolius needle-leaved rabbitbrush 7 33 Asterace Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus sticky-leaved rabbitbrush 2 34 Asterace Encelia actoni Acton encelia 20 1 35 Asterace Ericameria cooperi var. cooperi Cooper's goldenbush 30 2 36 Asterace Ericameria cuneata var. spathulata wide-leaved rock goldenbush 10 4 37 Asterace Ericameria linearifolia narrowleaf goldenbush 5 38 Asterace Erigeron breweri var. covillei Coville's fleabane 1 39 Asterace Erigeron divergens spreading fleabane 2 40 Asterace Eriophyllum wallacei Wallace's woolly daisy 3 41 Asterace Gnaphalium canescens ssp. canescens white everlasting 4 42 Asterace Gutierrezia microcephala sticky snakeweed 20 2 43 Asterace Heterotheca villosa var. scabra rough hairy-goldenaster 4 44 Asterace Hulsea vestita ssp. parryi Parry's sunflower 1 45 Asterace Hymenoclea salsola cheesebush 50 46 Asterace Hymenoxys cooperi Arizona hymenoxys 1 5 47 Asterace Layia glandulosa white tidy-tips 1 48 Asterace Malacothrix glabrata desert dandelion 2 49 Asterace Malacothrix stebbinsii Stebbins' malacothrix 5 50 Asterace Nicolletia occidentalis western nicolletia 5 51 Asterace Pectis papposa var. papposa chinch-weed 2 52 Asterace Rafinesquia californica California chicory 2 53 Asterace Rafinesquia neomexicana desert chicory 2 54 Asterace Stephanomeria exigua ssp. exigua slender wreathplant 1 55 Asterace Stylocline micropoides desert nest straw 2 56 Asterace Tetradymia axillaris var. longispina catclaw horsebrush 10 3 57 Asterace Tetradymia stenolepis Mojave horsebrush 1 58 Asterace Uropappus lindleyi silver puffs 3 59 Asterace Viguiera parishii Parish's viguiera 10 1 60 Asterace Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia Mojave-aster 20 2 61 Boragina Amsinckia tessellata bristly fiddleneck 1 62 Boragina Cryptantha barbigera bearded cryptantha 2 63 Boragina Cryptantha barbigera var. fergusoniae Santa Rosa Mountain bearded cryptantha 1 64 Boragina Cryptantha dumetorum bush-loving cryptantha 1 65 Boragina Cryptantha gracilis slender cryptantha 1 66 Boragina Cryptantha pterocarya wing-nut cryptantha 6 67 Boragina Cryptantha utahensis scented cryptantha 3 68 Boragina Pectocarya setosa moth combseed 1 69 Boragina Plagiobothrys arizonicus Arizona popcorn flower 1 70 Brassica Arabis dispar pinyon rock cress 2 71 Brassica Arabis glaucovalvula blue-podded rock-cress 8 72 Brassica Arabis perennans perennial rock-cress 3 73 Brassica Arabis pulchra beautiful rock-cress 2 74 Brassica Arabis pulchra var. gracilis slender & beautiful rock-cress 1 75 Brassica Caulanthus cooperi Cooper's jewel-flower 1 76 Brassica Caulanthus hallii Hall's caulanthus 1 77 Brassica Descurainia pinnata western tansy-mustard 1 78 Brassica Erysimum capitatum ssp. capitatum western wallflower 1 79 Brassica Guillenia lasiophylla California mustard 2 80 Brassica Lepidium fremontii desert pepper-grass 1 81 Brassica Lepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpum hairy-podded pepper-grass 2 82 Brassica Lepidium nitidum shining peppergrass 2 83 Brassica Streptanthus campestris southern jewel-flower 1 84 Brassica Thysanocarpus curvipes fringe-pod 5 85 Brassica Thysanocarpus laciniatus lace-pod 2 86 Cactacea Echinocereus engelmannii Engelmann's hedgehog cactus 50 87 Cactacea Echinocereus triglochidiatus three-spine hedgehog cactus 10 4 88 Cactacea Ferocactus cylindraceus California barrel cactus 20 5 89 Cactacea Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris beavertail cactus 5 90 Cactacea Opuntia chlorotica pancake prickly-pear 99 91 Cactacea Opuntia echinocarpa silver cholla 99 92 Cactacea Opuntia erinacea var. erinacea Mojave prickly-pear 50 93 Cactacea Opuntia parishii mat cholla 3 94 Cactacea Opuntia ramosissima pencil cholla 1 95 Campanul Nemacladus sigmoideus small-flowered nemacladus 1 96 Caryophy Arenaria macradenia var. macradenia desert sandwort 2 97 Chenopod Atriplex canescens fourwing saltbush 1 98 Chenopod Atriplex canescens ssp. canescens four-wing saltbush 1 99 Chenopod Grayia spinosa hop-sage 6 100 Crassula Dudleya saxosa ssp. aloides desert dudleya 3 2 101 Cucurbit Cucurbita palmata coyote melon 2 102 Ericacea Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. zacaensis Eastwood manzanita 1 103 Ericacea Arctostaphylos glauca bigberry manzanita 4 104 Euphorbi Chamaesyce albomarginata rattlesnake weed 2 105 Fabaceae Acacia greggii catclaw 50 106 Fabaceae Astragalus acutirostris beaked rattle-weed 3 107 Fabaceae Astragalus bernardinus San Bernardino milk-vetch 10 108 Fabaceae Astragalus coccineus scarlet milk-vetch 4 109 Fabaceae Astragalus lentiginosus freckled milk-vetch 1 110 Fabaceae Astragalus lentiginosus var. fremontii Fremont's milk-vetch 1 111 Fabaceae Astragalus lentiginosus var. variabilis freckled milk-vetch 5 112 Fabaceae Astragalus nuttallianus var. cedrosensis Cedros milk-vetch 1 113 Fabaceae Astragalus palmeri Palmer's milk-vetch 15 114 Fabaceae Astragalus tricarinatus triple-ribbed milk-vetch 1 115 Fabaceae Lotus rigidus desert lotus 4 116 Fabaceae Lotus salsuginosus var. brevivexillus short-bannered coastal lotus 1 117 Fabaceae Lotus strigosus strigose lotus 1 118 Fabaceae Lupinus concinnus bajada lupine 1 119 Fabaceae Lupinus excubitus var. austromontanus mountain grape-soda lupine 4 120 Fabaceae Lupinus hyacinthinus San Jacinto lupine 1 121 Fabaceae Lupinus polyphyllus var. burkei bigleaf lupine 1 122 Fabaceae Lupinus sparsiflorus Coulter's lupine 2 123 Fabaceae Senna armata spiny senna 5 124 Fagaceae Quercus cornelius-mulleri desert scrub oak 99 5 125 Fagaceae Quercus dumosa coast scrub oak 2 126 Fagaceae Quercus john-tuckeri Tucker's oak 3 127 Fagaceae Quercus lobata X Quercus turbinella valley oak x shrub live oak 12 128 Fagaceae Quercus palmeri Palmer's oak 1 129 Fagaceae Quercus turbinella shrub live oak 5 130 Hydrophy Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia var. bipinnatifida eucrypta 2 131 Hydrophy Phacelia affinis limestone phacelia 3 132 Hydrophy Phacelia campanularia ssp. vasiformis desert bluebells 5 133 Hydrophy Phacelia crenulata var. ambigua heliotrope phacelia 2 134 Hydrophy Phacelia cryptantha limestone phacelia 3 135 Hydrophy Phacelia distans common phacelia 4 136 Hydrophy Phacelia fremontii Fremont's phacelia 4 137 Lamiacea Monardella robisonii Robison's monardella 38 138 Lamiacea Salazaria mexicana Mexican bladder sage 99 1 139 Lamiacea Salvia columbariae chia 99 140 Lamiacea Salvia dorrii blue sage 2 141 Lamiacea Salvia dorrii var. dorrii blue sage 2 142 Lamiacea Salvia dorrii var. pilosa hairy sage 2 143 Lamiacea Salvia mohavensis Mojave sage 5 3 144 Lamiacea Salvia pachyphylla rose sage 1 145 Lennoace Pholisma arenarium sand plant 4 146 Loasacea Mentzelia albicaulis white-stemmed blazing star 1 147 Malvacea Sphaeralcea ambigua var. ambigua apricot mallow 10 3 148 Malvacea Sphaeralcea emoryi var. emoryi Emory's globemallow 1 149 Mollugin Mollugo cerviana *carpet-weed 2 150 Nyctagin Abronia villosa hairy sand verbena 1 151 Nyctagin Boerhavia intermedia fivewing spiderling 2 152 Nyctagin Boerhavia triquetra slender spiderling 4 153 Oleaceae Forestiera pubescens desert olive 3 154 Oleaceae Fraxinus velutina velvet ash 6 155 Oleaceae Menodora scoparia broom twinberry 1 156 Onagrace Camissonia brevipes ssp. brevipes golden sun-cup 3 157 Onagrace Camissonia campestris ssp. campestris field sun-cup 2 158 Onagrace Camissonia chamaenerioides long-fruit suncup 1 159 Onagrace Camissonia pallida ssp. hallii Hall's sun-cup 1 160 Onagrace Camissonia pallida ssp. pallida pale sun-cup 2 161 Onagrace Camissonia refracta narrow-leaf sun-cup 1 162 Onagrace Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium mountain California-fuchsia 2 163 Papavera Argemone munita prickly poppy 10 164 Papavera Eschscholzia parishii Parish's poppy 1 165 Papavera Platystemon californicus cream cups 2 166 Plantagi Plantago patagonica Patagonia plantain 1 167 Polemoni Eriastrum sapphirinum sapphire woolly-star 1 168 Polemoni Gilia stellata star gilia 4 169 Polemoni Linanthus bigelovii Bigelow's linanthus 1 170 Polemoni Saltugilia latimeri 1 171 Polygona Centrostegia thurberi Thurber's spineflower 1 172 Polygona Eriogonum davidsonii Davidson's buckwheat 1 173 Polygona Eriogonum fasciculatum California buckwheat 1 174 Polygona Eriogonum fasciculatum var. flavoviride California buckwheat 1 4 175 Polygona Eriogonum heermannii var. argense Heermann's buckwheat 5 6 176 Polygona Eriogonum inflatum desert trumpet 99 177 Polygona Eriogonum plumatella yucca buckwheat 2 178 Polygona Eriogonum pusillum yellow-turbans 1 179 Polygona Eriogonum saxatile rock buckwheat 2 180 Polygona Eriogonum wrightii var. wrightii Wright's buckwheat 40 1 181 Polygona Rumex crispus *curly dock 1 182 Polygona Rumex hymenosepalus wild rhubarb 1 183 Portulac Calyptridium monandrum sand cress 1 184 Portulac Claytonia parviflora ssp. parviflora narrow-leaved miner's lettuce 1 185 Portulac Claytonia parviflora ssp. viridis green miner's lettuce 3 186 Portulac Portulaca halimoides desert portulaca 6 187 Ranuncul Clematis pauciflora virgin's bower 6 188 Ranuncul Myosurus cupulatus desert mouse-tail 1 189 Rhamnace Ceanothus greggii desert ceanothus 2 190 Rhamnace Ceanothus greggii var. perplexans cupped-leaf ceanothus 1 191 Rhamnace Rhamnus ilicifolia hollyleaf redberry 2 192 Rosaceae Cercocarpus betuloides birch-leaf mountain-mahogany 3 193 Rosaceae Coleogyne ramosissima black brush 99 2 194 Rosaceae Ivesia saxosa rock ivesia 5 10 195 Rosaceae Prunus fasciculata desert almond 4 196 Rosaceae Purshia tridentata var. glandulosa desert bitterbrush 4 197 Rubiacea Galium angustifolium ssp. gracillimum slender bedstraw 10 3 198 Rubiacea Galium aparine common bedstraw 1 199 Rubiacea Galium stellatum var. eremicum star-flowered bedstraw 1 200 Rutaceae Thamnosma montana turpentine broom 2 201 Salicace Salix exigua narrowleaf willow 2 202 Salicace Salix gooddingii black willow 1 203 Salicace Salix laevigata red willow 4 204 Salicace Salix lasiolepis arroyo willow 1 205 Scrophul Castilleja angustifolia northwestern paintbrush 6 206 Scrophul Cordylanthus rigidus ssp. setigerus bristly bird's beak 2 207 Scrophul Keckiella antirrhinoides var. microphylla little-leaved chaparral beard-tongue 2 208 Scrophul Mimulus aurantiacus bush monkeyflower 7 209 Scrophul Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii Bigelow's monkeyflower 1 210 Scrophul Mimulus guttatus common monkeyflower 3 211 Scrophul Mimulus parishii Parish's monkeyflower 1 212 Scrophul Mimulus pilosus false monkeyflower 1 213 Scrophul Mimulus rubellus little redstem monkeyflower 2 214 Scrophul Penstemon clevelandii var. connatus San Jacinto beardtongue 1 215 Scrophul Penstemon clevelandii var. mohavensis Mojave beardtongue 3 8 216 Scrophul Penstemon incertus Mojave beardtongue 1 217 Scrophul Penstemon thurberi Thurber's beardtongue 6 218 Simmonds Simmondsia chinensis jojoba 1 219 Solanace Lycium cooperi Cooper's box-thorn 1 220 Solanace Nicotiana obtusifolia desert tobacco 2 1 221 Solanace Physalis crassifolia thick-leaved ground cherry 2 2 222 Verbenac Aloysia wrightii oreganillo 2 223 Viscacea Phoradendron californicum desert mistletoe 1 1 224 Viscacea Phoradendron densum dense mistletoe 2 225 Zygophyl Fagonia laevis California fagonia 1 226 Zygophyl Larrea tridentata creosote bush 99 227 Zygophyl Tribulus terrestris *puncture-vine 1 228 Cyperace Eleocharis macrostachya common spikerush 1 229 Cyperace Eleocharis parishii Parish's spikerush 1 230 Liliacea Allium denticulatum toothed wild onion 1 231 Liliacea Allium parishii Parish's onion 4 232 Liliacea Nolina parryi Parry's nolina 40 12 233 Liliacea Yucca brevifolia joshua tree 99 3 234 Liliacea Yucca schidigera Mohave yucca 99 1 235 Poaceae Achnatherum speciosum desert needlegrass 1 236 Poaceae Aristida purpurea purple three-awn 1 1 237 Poaceae Aristida purpurea var. nealleyi Nealley three-awn 2 238 Poaceae Aristida purpurea var. wrightii Wright three-awn 1 239 Poaceae Bothriochloa barbinodis cane bluestem 1 240 Poaceae Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoides needle grama 1 241 Poaceae Bouteloua barbata var. barbata six-weeks grama 2 242 Poaceae Bouteloua curtipendula side-oats grama 3 243 Poaceae Bromus trinii Chilean chess 2 244 Poaceae Echinochloa crus-galli *barnyard grass 1 245 Poaceae Erioneuron pulchellum fluff grass 5 246 Poaceae Melica imperfecta coast-range melic 1 247 Poaceae Muhlenbergia minutissima annual muhly 2 248 Poaceae Muhlenbergia porteri Porter's muhly 2 249 Poaceae Sporobolus cryptandrus sand dropseed 2 Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria (ucjeps.berkeley.edu/consortium/; Sun Nov 20 2011).
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Last update: 20 November 2011