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.

View north from Trailhead
View of wash directly east of Trailhead
Looking up the south slope
Looking sideways and down the south slope
Shelf at the top of the first ridge - view east
Shelf at the top of the first ridge - view west
Final approach to the top
The top (seen from a lower vantage point than the previous 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.

Version for printing, without other text on this page: html (8 pages) or pdf Clickbook booklet (2 double-sided pages). (See printing instructions for an explanation of these options)

#JM FamilyScientific Name(*)Common Name#Pls#Vch
1DryopterDryopteris argutaCalifornia wood fern 1
2DryopterWoodsia plummeraePlummer's woodsia 1
3PteridacCheilanthes covilleibeady lipfern 7
4PteridacCheilanthes parryiwoolly lipfern11
5PteridacPellaea mucronata var. californicaCalifornia cliff-brake 1
6PteridacPentagramma triangularis ssp. triangularisgoldback fern 1
7CupressaJuniperus californicaCalifornia juniper205
8EphedracEphedra nevadensisNevada ephedra301
9PinaceaePinus monophyllapinyon pine152
10AmaranthAmaranthus fimbriatusfringed amaranth101
11AmaranthAmaranthus torreyisandhill amaranth 1
12AnacardiRhus trilobatabasketbush 5
13ApiaceaeLomatium mohavenseMojave lomatium 5
14ApocynacAmsonia tomentosawoolly amsonia 12
15AsclepiaMatelea parvifoliaspearleaf31
16AsteraceAcamptopappus sphaerocephalus var. sphaerocephalusgoldenhead 2
17AsteraceAdenophyllum cooperiCooper's dogweed 1
18AsteraceAdenophyllum porophylloidesSan Felipe dogweed201
19AsteraceAmbrosia acanthicarpabur-ragweed 1
20AsteraceAmbrosia dumosaburroweed5 
21AsteraceArtemisia ludoviciana ssp. albulawhite mugwort22
22AsteraceBaccharis brachyphyllashort-leaved baccharis5 
23AsteraceBaccharis salicifoliamule fat 1
24AsteraceBaileya pleniradiatawoolly marigold 4
25AsteraceBrickellia argutaCalifornia spear-leaved brickellia 3
26AsteraceBrickellia arguta var. argutaCalifornia spear-leaved brickellia1 
27AsteraceBrickellia californicaCalifornia brickellbush51
28AsteraceBrickellia desertorumdesert brickellia 1
29AsteraceBrickellia incanawoolly brickellia 7
30AsteraceChaenactis fremontiiFremont pincushion 2
31AsteraceChrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. mohavensisMohave common rabbitbrush 2
32AsteraceChrysothamnus teretifoliusneedle-leaved rabbitbrush 7
33AsteraceChrysothamnus viscidiflorussticky-leaved rabbitbrush 2
34AsteraceEncelia actoniActon encelia201
35AsteraceEricameria cooperi var. cooperiCooper's goldenbush302
36AsteraceEricameria cuneata var. spathulatawide-leaved rock goldenbush104
37AsteraceEricameria linearifolianarrowleaf goldenbush 5
38AsteraceErigeron breweri var. covilleiCoville's fleabane 1
39AsteraceErigeron divergensspreading fleabane 2
40AsteraceEriophyllum wallaceiWallace's woolly daisy 3
41AsteraceGnaphalium canescens ssp. canescenswhite everlasting 4
42AsteraceGutierrezia microcephalasticky snakeweed202
43AsteraceHeterotheca villosa var. scabrarough hairy-goldenaster 4
44AsteraceHulsea vestita ssp. parryiParry's sunflower 1
45AsteraceHymenoclea salsolacheesebush50 
46AsteraceHymenoxys cooperiArizona hymenoxys15
47AsteraceLayia glandulosawhite tidy-tips 1
48AsteraceMalacothrix glabratadesert dandelion 2
49AsteraceMalacothrix stebbinsiiStebbins' malacothrix 5
50AsteraceNicolletia occidentaliswestern nicolletia 5
51AsteracePectis papposa var. papposachinch-weed 2
52AsteraceRafinesquia californicaCalifornia chicory 2
53AsteraceRafinesquia neomexicanadesert chicory 2
54AsteraceStephanomeria exigua ssp. exiguaslender wreathplant 1
55AsteraceStylocline micropoidesdesert nest straw 2
56AsteraceTetradymia axillaris var. longispinacatclaw horsebrush103
57AsteraceTetradymia stenolepisMojave horsebrush 1
58AsteraceUropappus lindleyisilver puffs 3
59AsteraceViguiera parishiiParish's viguiera101
60AsteraceXylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifoliaMojave-aster202
61BoraginaAmsinckia tessellatabristly fiddleneck 1
62BoraginaCryptantha barbigerabearded cryptantha 2
63BoraginaCryptantha barbigera var. fergusoniaeSanta Rosa Mountain bearded cryptantha 1
64BoraginaCryptantha dumetorumbush-loving cryptantha 1
65BoraginaCryptantha gracilisslender cryptantha 1
66BoraginaCryptantha pterocaryawing-nut cryptantha 6
67BoraginaCryptantha utahensisscented cryptantha 3
68BoraginaPectocarya setosamoth combseed 1
69BoraginaPlagiobothrys arizonicusArizona popcorn flower 1
70BrassicaArabis disparpinyon rock cress 2
71BrassicaArabis glaucovalvulablue-podded rock-cress 8
72BrassicaArabis perennansperennial rock-cress 3
73BrassicaArabis pulchrabeautiful rock-cress 2
74BrassicaArabis pulchra var. gracilisslender & beautiful rock-cress 1
75BrassicaCaulanthus cooperiCooper's jewel-flower 1
76BrassicaCaulanthus halliiHall's caulanthus 1
77BrassicaDescurainia pinnatawestern tansy-mustard 1
78BrassicaErysimum capitatum ssp. capitatumwestern wallflower 1
79BrassicaGuillenia lasiophyllaCalifornia mustard 2
80BrassicaLepidium fremontiidesert pepper-grass 1
81BrassicaLepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpumhairy-podded pepper-grass 2
82BrassicaLepidium nitidumshining peppergrass 2
83BrassicaStreptanthus campestrissouthern jewel-flower 1
84BrassicaThysanocarpus curvipesfringe-pod 5
85BrassicaThysanocarpus laciniatuslace-pod 2
86CactaceaEchinocereus engelmanniiEngelmann's hedgehog cactus50 
87CactaceaEchinocereus triglochidiatusthree-spine hedgehog cactus104
88CactaceaFerocactus cylindraceusCalifornia barrel cactus205
89CactaceaOpuntia basilaris var. basilarisbeavertail cactus5 
90CactaceaOpuntia chloroticapancake prickly-pear99 
91CactaceaOpuntia echinocarpasilver cholla99 
92CactaceaOpuntia erinacea var. erinaceaMojave prickly-pear50 
93CactaceaOpuntia parishiimat cholla 3
94CactaceaOpuntia ramosissimapencil cholla 1
95CampanulNemacladus sigmoideussmall-flowered nemacladus 1
96CaryophyArenaria macradenia var. macradeniadesert sandwort 2
97ChenopodAtriplex canescensfourwing saltbush 1
98ChenopodAtriplex canescens ssp. canescensfour-wing saltbush 1
99ChenopodGrayia spinosahop-sage 6
100CrassulaDudleya saxosa ssp. aloidesdesert dudleya32
101CucurbitCucurbita palmatacoyote melon 2
102EricaceaArctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. zacaensisEastwood manzanita 1
103EricaceaArctostaphylos glaucabigberry manzanita 4
104EuphorbiChamaesyce albomarginatarattlesnake weed 2
105FabaceaeAcacia greggiicatclaw50 
106FabaceaeAstragalus acutirostrisbeaked rattle-weed 3
107FabaceaeAstragalus bernardinusSan Bernardino milk-vetch 10
108FabaceaeAstragalus coccineusscarlet milk-vetch 4
109FabaceaeAstragalus lentiginosusfreckled milk-vetch 1
110FabaceaeAstragalus lentiginosus var. fremontiiFremont's milk-vetch 1
111FabaceaeAstragalus lentiginosus var. variabilisfreckled milk-vetch 5
112FabaceaeAstragalus nuttallianus var. cedrosensisCedros milk-vetch 1
113FabaceaeAstragalus palmeriPalmer's milk-vetch 15
114FabaceaeAstragalus tricarinatustriple-ribbed milk-vetch 1
115FabaceaeLotus rigidusdesert lotus 4
116FabaceaeLotus salsuginosus var. brevivexillusshort-bannered coastal lotus 1
117FabaceaeLotus strigosusstrigose lotus 1
118FabaceaeLupinus concinnusbajada lupine 1
119FabaceaeLupinus excubitus var. austromontanusmountain grape-soda lupine 4
120FabaceaeLupinus hyacinthinusSan Jacinto lupine 1
121FabaceaeLupinus polyphyllus var. burkeibigleaf lupine 1
122FabaceaeLupinus sparsiflorusCoulter's lupine 2
123FabaceaeSenna armataspiny senna 5
124FagaceaeQuercus cornelius-mulleridesert scrub oak995
125FagaceaeQuercus dumosacoast scrub oak 2
126FagaceaeQuercus john-tuckeriTucker's oak 3
127FagaceaeQuercus lobata X Quercus turbinellavalley oak x shrub live oak 12
128FagaceaeQuercus palmeriPalmer's oak 1
129FagaceaeQuercus turbinellashrub live oak 5
130HydrophyEucrypta chrysanthemifolia var. bipinnatifidaeucrypta 2
131HydrophyPhacelia affinislimestone phacelia 3
132HydrophyPhacelia campanularia ssp. vasiformisdesert bluebells 5
133HydrophyPhacelia crenulata var. ambiguaheliotrope phacelia 2
134HydrophyPhacelia cryptanthalimestone phacelia 3
135HydrophyPhacelia distanscommon phacelia 4
136HydrophyPhacelia fremontiiFremont's phacelia 4
137LamiaceaMonardella robisoniiRobison's monardella 38
138LamiaceaSalazaria mexicanaMexican bladder sage991
139LamiaceaSalvia columbariaechia99 
140LamiaceaSalvia dorriiblue sage 2
141LamiaceaSalvia dorrii var. dorriiblue sage 2
142LamiaceaSalvia dorrii var. pilosahairy sage 2
143LamiaceaSalvia mohavensisMojave sage53
144LamiaceaSalvia pachyphyllarose sage 1
145LennoacePholisma arenariumsand plant 4
146LoasaceaMentzelia albicauliswhite-stemmed blazing star 1
147MalvaceaSphaeralcea ambigua var. ambiguaapricot mallow103
148MalvaceaSphaeralcea emoryi var. emoryiEmory's globemallow 1
149MolluginMollugo cerviana*carpet-weed 2
150NyctaginAbronia villosahairy sand verbena 1
151NyctaginBoerhavia intermediafivewing spiderling 2
152NyctaginBoerhavia triquetraslender spiderling 4
153OleaceaeForestiera pubescensdesert olive 3
154OleaceaeFraxinus velutinavelvet ash 6
155OleaceaeMenodora scopariabroom twinberry1 
156OnagraceCamissonia brevipes ssp. brevipesgolden sun-cup 3
157OnagraceCamissonia campestris ssp. campestrisfield sun-cup 2
158OnagraceCamissonia chamaenerioideslong-fruit suncup 1
159OnagraceCamissonia pallida ssp. halliiHall's sun-cup 1
160OnagraceCamissonia pallida ssp. pallidapale sun-cup 2
161OnagraceCamissonia refractanarrow-leaf sun-cup 1
162OnagraceEpilobium canum ssp. latifoliummountain California-fuchsia 2
163PapaveraArgemone munitaprickly poppy10 
164PapaveraEschscholzia parishiiParish's poppy 1
165PapaveraPlatystemon californicuscream cups 2
166PlantagiPlantago patagonicaPatagonia plantain 1
167PolemoniEriastrum sapphirinumsapphire woolly-star 1
168PolemoniGilia stellatastar gilia 4
169PolemoniLinanthus bigeloviiBigelow's linanthus 1
170PolemoniSaltugilia latimeri  1
171PolygonaCentrostegia thurberiThurber's spineflower 1
172PolygonaEriogonum davidsoniiDavidson's buckwheat 1
173PolygonaEriogonum fasciculatumCalifornia buckwheat 1
174PolygonaEriogonum fasciculatum var. flavovirideCalifornia buckwheat14
175PolygonaEriogonum heermannii var. argenseHeermann's buckwheat56
176PolygonaEriogonum inflatumdesert trumpet99 
177PolygonaEriogonum plumatellayucca buckwheat 2
178PolygonaEriogonum pusillumyellow-turbans 1
179PolygonaEriogonum saxatilerock buckwheat 2
180PolygonaEriogonum wrightii var. wrightiiWright's buckwheat401
181PolygonaRumex crispus*curly dock 1
182PolygonaRumex hymenosepaluswild rhubarb 1
183PortulacCalyptridium monandrumsand cress 1
184PortulacClaytonia parviflora ssp. parvifloranarrow-leaved miner's lettuce 1
185PortulacClaytonia parviflora ssp. viridisgreen miner's lettuce 3
186PortulacPortulaca halimoidesdesert portulaca 6
187RanunculClematis paucifloravirgin's bower 6
188RanunculMyosurus cupulatusdesert mouse-tail 1
189RhamnaceCeanothus greggiidesert ceanothus 2
190RhamnaceCeanothus greggii var. perplexanscupped-leaf ceanothus 1
191RhamnaceRhamnus ilicifoliahollyleaf redberry 2
192RosaceaeCercocarpus betuloidesbirch-leaf mountain-mahogany 3
193RosaceaeColeogyne ramosissimablack brush992
194RosaceaeIvesia saxosarock ivesia510
195RosaceaePrunus fasciculatadesert almond 4
196RosaceaePurshia tridentata var. glandulosadesert bitterbrush 4
197RubiaceaGalium angustifolium ssp. gracillimumslender bedstraw103
198RubiaceaGalium aparinecommon bedstraw 1
199RubiaceaGalium stellatum var. eremicumstar-flowered bedstraw 1
200RutaceaeThamnosma montanaturpentine broom 2
201SalicaceSalix exiguanarrowleaf willow 2
202SalicaceSalix gooddingiiblack willow 1
203SalicaceSalix laevigatared willow 4
204SalicaceSalix lasiolepisarroyo willow 1
205ScrophulCastilleja angustifolianorthwestern paintbrush 6
206ScrophulCordylanthus rigidus ssp. setigerusbristly bird's beak 2
207ScrophulKeckiella antirrhinoides var. microphyllalittle-leaved chaparral beard-tongue 2
208ScrophulMimulus aurantiacusbush monkeyflower 7
209ScrophulMimulus bigelovii var. bigeloviiBigelow's monkeyflower 1
210ScrophulMimulus guttatuscommon monkeyflower 3
211ScrophulMimulus parishiiParish's monkeyflower 1
212ScrophulMimulus pilosusfalse monkeyflower 1
213ScrophulMimulus rubelluslittle redstem monkeyflower 2
214ScrophulPenstemon clevelandii var. connatusSan Jacinto beardtongue 1
215ScrophulPenstemon clevelandii var. mohavensisMojave beardtongue38
216ScrophulPenstemon incertusMojave beardtongue 1
217ScrophulPenstemon thurberiThurber's beardtongue 6
218SimmondsSimmondsia chinensisjojoba 1
219SolanaceLycium cooperiCooper's box-thorn 1
220SolanaceNicotiana obtusifoliadesert tobacco21
221SolanacePhysalis crassifoliathick-leaved ground cherry22
222VerbenacAloysia wrightiioreganillo 2
223ViscaceaPhoradendron californicumdesert mistletoe11
224ViscaceaPhoradendron densumdense mistletoe 2
225ZygophylFagonia laevisCalifornia fagonia 1
226ZygophylLarrea tridentatacreosote bush99 
227ZygophylTribulus terrestris*puncture-vine 1
228CyperaceEleocharis macrostachyacommon spikerush 1
229CyperaceEleocharis parishiiParish's spikerush 1
230LiliaceaAllium denticulatumtoothed wild onion 1
231LiliaceaAllium parishiiParish's onion 4
232LiliaceaNolina parryiParry's nolina4012
233LiliaceaYucca brevifoliajoshua tree993
234LiliaceaYucca schidigeraMohave yucca991
235PoaceaeAchnatherum speciosumdesert needlegrass 1
236PoaceaeAristida purpureapurple three-awn11
237PoaceaeAristida purpurea var. nealleyiNealley three-awn 2
238PoaceaeAristida purpurea var. wrightiiWright three-awn 1
239PoaceaeBothriochloa barbinodiscane bluestem 1
240PoaceaeBouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoidesneedle grama 1
241PoaceaeBouteloua barbata var. barbatasix-weeks grama 2
242PoaceaeBouteloua curtipendulaside-oats grama 3
243PoaceaeBromus triniiChilean chess 2
244PoaceaeEchinochloa crus-galli*barnyard grass 1
245PoaceaeErioneuron pulchellumfluff grass5 
246PoaceaeMelica imperfectacoast-range melic 1
247PoaceaeMuhlenbergia minutissimaannual muhly 2
248PoaceaeMuhlenbergia porteriPorter's muhly 2
249PoaceaeSporobolus cryptandrussand 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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Copyright © 2011 by Tom Chester
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to me at this source:
http://tchester.org/plants/floras/desert/queen_mtn_area.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Last update: 20 November 2011