Plant Guide to Seven Pines Trail, San Jacinto Mountains This is a working list, about which we make no guarantees at all until we officially release it. Use at your own risk!
Introduction and Explanation of Plant Trail Guides
Introduction
Highlights of This Trail
Fieldwork Dates and Summary of List Changes With Time
Botanical Trip Reports
The Plant Guide
Comments On Specific Species
Introduction This guide began as a guide to the 7 Pines / Marion Mountain Trail Loop in 2007, but on 15 September 2011 we changed it to be a guide to just the 7 Pines Trail, after doing extensive work on the trails separately.
The 7 Pines Trail is a 3.4 mile trail from the trailhead on the Azalea Pines Road just past the Girl Scout Camp to a junction with the PCT. The hike to the PCT and back is 6.8 miles roundtrip with a total elevation gain and loss of 2760 feet (2550 feet gain on the way up to the PCT and 210 feet gain on the way back).
Directions to Trailhead. From the U.S. Forest Service office near the center of Idyllwild, drive 5.0 miles to Azalea Trails Road, which is the turnoff for Marion Mountain / Stone Creek / Dark Canyon Campgrounds, and turn right, across the street from Camp Allendale. After 0.1 mile, turn left to stay on Azalea Trails Road. After another 0.7 miles, turn left again to stay on Azalea Trails Road. Drive another 3.4 miles to a saddle just above the Azalea Trails Girl Scout Camp, following the road left after the horse corrals at the Azalea Trails Girl Scout Camp, immediately before the usually-closed gate to the Camp.
Note that these left turns are somewhat confusingly signed; the first two are marked on the map below. It helps tremendously to expect these turns before you get to them.
The parking area is on the right. Azalea Trails Road is paved through Dark Canyon Campground, and is dirt above that.
The following map shows the access road, parking area, 7 Pines Trail, and nearby trails. The Azalea Trails Road is much more windy than indicated on the map, and a slow drive. Anticipate taking a minimum of 25 minutes from Idyllwild to get to the 7 Pines Trailhead.
The Pines in the name actually refers to conifers, since one of them is not even in the Pine Family:
Family Scientific Name Common Name Cupressaceae Calocedrus decurrens incense-cedar Pinaceae Abies concolor white fir Pinaceae Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana lodgepole pine Pinaceae Pinus coulteri Coulter pine Pinaceae Pinus jeffreyi Jeffrey pine Pinaceae Pinus lambertiana sugar pine Pinaceae Pinus ponderosa ponderosa pine This guide is different from our usual plant trail guides, in that it corresponds to the flora of an area rather than just a transect along the narrow corridor of the trail. The plants numbered below are not all on trail, and the number of plants reflects the number seen off-trail as well as on-trail, including an excursion to an 8000 foot knoll about 0.3 miles south of the trail.
See also Flora of 7 Pines Trail Area, which gives all the species in this guide in traditional family order, cross-referenced to this guide.
This trail can be done as part of a 6.1 mile loop hike, with 2530 feet of elevation gain and 2550 feet of elevation loss, that requires a car shuttle between the Marion Mountain Trailhead and the Seven Pines Trailhead. The one-way car shuttle takes about 15 minutes. Part of the shuttle route is a dirt road that can be easily navigated by high-clearance normal passenger cars.
Highlights of This Trail Some of the botanical highlights of this trail are:
- A very large number of species for a high-elevation trail. This guide contains 155 species as of 19 September 2011, whereas a typical high-elevation guide contains ~100 species.
- The 8000 foot off-trail knoll is the type locality of Potentilla rimicola, a RARE species found only at SnJt and the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir in Baja California.
The original name given to the plants at this particular location of this species was P. wheeleri var. rimicola, with the type specimen collected here by P.A. Munz and I.M. Johnston on 27 July 1924, with a duplicate specimen as well. The original paper assigning that name to these plants is Bull. S. Calif. Acad. Sci. 24: 18, 19. 1925.
Barbara Ertter realized that this was clearly a separate species from P. wheeleri var. wheeleri, due to its unique habitat, as well as a few morphological differences, when she was preparing the Jepson Manual treatment for Potentilla, and published the name of P. rimicola in Phytologia 71(5): 420 (1991 publ. 1992).
- This trail is the only known location for three species at SnJt: Cryptantha affinis; Collinsia torreyi var. wrightii; and Listera convallarioides. In addition, this trail may contain a fourth such species, Pyrola minor, if that is the actual identification for a small number of plants seen only as leaves so far. In fact, all of these species except the Collinsia are not present on any other trail we've surveyed anywhere in southern California.
Number of Unique Taxa On This Trail
The following histogram gives the number of trails in our database that contain each taxon on this trail (not including the taxa seen only off-trail given at the end of the guide). We had 248 trails in our southern California database when this histogram was made; 13 of those trails, including this one, are in this area of San Jacinto Mountain. A number of "1" means the taxon has only been found on this trail among the trails in our database; numbers of "9" or smaller may indicate taxa found only in this area of San Jacinto Mountain.
Number of Trails
Containing A TaxonNumber Of Taxa
On This Trail% of Taxa
On This Trail1 3 2% 2 1 1% 3 3 2% 4 3 2% 5 2 1% 1-10 24 15% 11-20 22 14% 21-30 41 26% 31-40 22 14% 41-50 18 12% 51-60 13 8% 61-70 6 4% 71-80 2 1% 81-90 4 3% 91-100 3 2% Total Taxa 155 100% The following table gives the species seen on the fewest number of our surveyed San Jacinto Trails and Areas:
#SnJt Name 1 Cryptantha affinis 1 Collinsia torreyi var. wrightii 1 Listera convallarioides 1 ~Pyrola minor 1 *Amaranthus albus 2 Arceuthobium californicum 3 Phacelia austromontana 3 Epilobium lactiflorum 3 Oxypolis occidentalis 4 Potentilla rimicola 4 Thalictrum sparsiflorum 4 Poa bolanderi
Fieldwork Dates and Summary of List Changes With Time The following table gives the dates the trail was walked and taxa recorded. After each visit, the table gives the total number of taxa on the list and the breakdown of the taxa without positive identification. See Explanation of Plant Trail Guides to understand the symbols below.
Visit Date Visit # # taxa # "?" # "sp" # "~" # "ssp" 7/20/2007 1 78 2 4 9 5 7/13/2010 2 136 0 1 5 1 8/10/2010 3 143 0 1 6 1 5/4/2011 4 144 0 1 6 1 9/16/2011 5 155 0 0 7 1 9/21/2011 6 155 0 1 4 1 The numbers above all are just for the 7 Pines Trail area, not including the original Marion Mountain Trail portion. Beginning 7/13/10, the numbers include all taxa seen, including off-trail taxa. The work on 8/10/10 was just in the Listera drainage. The work on 5/4/11 was primarily to check for the present of Allium burlewii in the first mile or so of the trail. The work on 9/16/11 was just to mile 2.23, and was the first time the flora of the 8000 foot knoll was included.
Although the species count stayed the same between 9/16/2011 and 9/21/2011, three species were deleted since they were not confirmed (Carex rossii, Lotus oblongifolius and Erigeron foliosus) and three were added (Agrostis scabra, Dodecatheon alpinum and Carex subfusca).
Botanical Trip Reports
The Plant Guide See also Flora of 7 Pines Trail Area, which gives all the species in this guide in traditional family order, cross-referenced to this guide.
Version for printing, without lines and other text on this page: html (6 pages) or pdf Clickbook booklet (2 double-sided pages). (See printing instructions for an explanation of these options)
The mileages in the guide come from Topo!. The total mileage is almost surely slightly underestimated, probably by no more than 10%, due to the tight switchbacks on the trail that are not accurately measured by that program. The elevations come from the topo map, and should be fairly precise.
The guide below does not give most of the switchbacks and other such trail landmarks, since there were way too many of them to record.
Mile S # id? Common Name Latin Name #here #all 0.00 Begin trail at northern end of parking area, at saddle between Fuller Creek and North Fork, elevation 6300 feet (1920 m), The following plants are at or near the parking area, given in alphabetical order by scientific name. 1 white fir Abies concolor 99 / 9 85 2 western needlegrass Achnatherum occidentale 20 / 3 12 3 *tumble pigweed Amaranthus albus 4 / 1 19 4 pink-bracted manzanita Arctostaphylos pringlei ssp. drupacea 99 / 7 33 5 ~ Hall's brome Bromus orcuttianus var. hallii 20 / 3 8 6 *downy brome Bromus tectorum 20 / 2 70 7 incense-cedar Calocedrus decurrens 99 / 9 56 8 forest goosefoot Chenopodium atrovirens 30 / 5 30 9 San Bernardino rubber rabbitbrush Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. bernardinus 50 / 5 64 10 Nevin's bird's beak Cordylanthus nevinii 99 / 7 26 11 purple-root cryptantha Cryptantha micrantha 30 / 1 34 12 squirreltail Elymus elymoides 10 / 3 54 13 southern mountain woolly-star Eriastrum densifolium ssp. austromontanum 20 / 1 25 14 slender buckwheat Eriogonum gracile var. incultum 50 / 1 11 15 pineland buckwheat Eriogonum molestum 50 / 1 7 16 sulphur buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum var. munzii 99 / 9 23 17 Wright's buckwheat Eriogonum wrightii var. membranaceum 99 / 5 29 18 San Jacinto Mtns. bedstraw Galium angustifolium ssp. jacinticum 99 / 9 25 19 pinegrove groundsmoke Gayophytum oligospermum 50 / 3 42 20 splendid gilia Gilia splendens ssp. splendens 99 / 5 21 21 slender everlasting Gnaphalium canescens ssp. thermale 20 / 1 26 22 western marsh cudweed Gnaphalium palustre 50 / 1 19 23 California-aster Lessingia filaginifolia var. filaginifolia 5 / 2 92 24 whisker-brush Linanthus ciliatus 5 / 1 14 25 Sierra Nevada lotus Lotus nevadensis var. nevadensis 40 / 5 47 26 short-flowered monardella Monardella nana ssp. tenuiflora 99 / 9 43 27 incense-cedar mistletoe Phoradendron libocedri 5 / 2 14 28 oak mistletoe Phoradendron villosum 99 / 7 26 29 Coulter pine Pinus coulteri 50 / 5 25 30 sugar pine Pinus lambertiana 99 / 9 61 31 ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa 40 / 5 15 32 canyon live oak Quercus chrysolepis 99 / 9 73 33 California black oak Quercus kelloggii 30 / 3 30 34 goldenrod Solidago californica 30 / 2 95 The rest of the guide gives plants in order along the trail; plants off-trail are numbered just like plants on-trail 0.00 l Sign: "Seven Pines Trail; Deer Springs Trail 3.5 miles; Mt. San Jacinto 7.25 miles" 0.01 l Sign: "Fragile habitat; Creek Closure" 0.01 l Sign: "Wilderness Permit Required" 0.03 b 35 mountain California-fuchsia Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium 99 / 9 90 0.07 r 36 Parish's tauschia Tauschia parishii 20 / 2 22 0.09 r 37 naked buckwheat Eriogonum nudum var. pauciflorum 99 / 9 53 0.11 l 38 Burlew's onion Allium burlewii 99 / 2 6 0.12 First of two close local high points on trail 0.12 r 39 mountain grape-soda lupine Lupinus excubitus var. austromontanus 5 / 1 27 0.12 l 40 beautiful hulsea Hulsea vestita ssp. callicarpha 40 / 3 31 0.12 41 ~ pinewoods rock-cress Arabis holboellii var. pinetorum 1 / 1 27 0.17 r 42 San Jacinto buckwheat Eriogonum apiculatum 50 / 3 38 0.20 r 43 sugar pine dwarf-mistletoe Arceuthobium californicum 99 / 3 2 0.23 Local high point; cross divide for a brief sojourn in canyon of North Fork before returning to Fuller Creek canyon 0.36 r 44 snow-plant Sarcodes sanguinea 20 / 8 36 0.36 r 45 western azalea Rhododendron occidentale 50 / 3 40 0.36 Densest population of sugar pine dwarf-mistletoe, Arceuthobium californicum 0.39 l 46 pinedrops Pterospora andromedea 10 / 9 41 0.39 r 47 rock buckwheat Eriogonum saxatile 10 / 1 18 0.49 l 48 California coffeeberry Rhamnus californica 2 / 1 22 0.53 49 white catch-fly Silene verecunda ssp. platyota 99 / 9 59 0.53 l 50 white-veined wintergreen Pyrola picta 3 / 1 18 0.55 l 51 fir mistletoe Phoradendron pauciflorum 20 / 3 27 0.59 l 52 Laguna Mtns. jewel-flower Streptanthus bernardinus 8 / 3 7 0.60 l 53 mountain whitethorn Ceanothus cordulatus 99 / 9 61 0.60 l 54 Scouler's willow Salix scouleriana 10 / 4 51 0.60 l 55 deergrass Muhlenbergia rigens 1 / 1 52 0.61 b 56 Parish's campion Silene parishii+ 99 / 3 23 0.63 57 pine lousewort Pedicularis semibarbata 99 / 9 47 0.67 58 little prince's pine Chimaphila menziesii 5 / 2 25 0.72 Minor local high point; cross saddle for another brief sojourn in canyon of North Fork 0.74 l 59 Jeffrey pine Pinus jeffreyi 99 / 9 83 0.74 60 granite prickly phlox Leptodactylon pungens 15 / 2 34 0.75 Switchback left 0.78 r 61 green-leaf manzanita Arctostaphylos patula 20 / 3 47 0.81 r 62 spotted coralroot Corallorhiza maculata 30 / 5 23 0.81 Switchback left 0.84 Switchback right 0.85 Switchback left 0.94 r 63 beaked penstemon Penstemon rostriflorus 50 / 9 49 0.96 r 64 bush chinquapin Chrysolepis sempervirens 30 / 3 53 1.02 Local high point; elevation ~7100 feet (2164 m); cross small saddle and enter North Fork Canyon for rest of trip 1.04 l 65 rock goldenbush Ericameria cuneata var. cuneata 1 / 1 19 1.07 First of many switchbacks 1.12 l 66 San Jacinto lupine Lupinus hyacinthinus 30 / 5 57 1.26 b 67 mountain pink currant Ribes nevadense 99 / 7 50 1.26 Local low point; cross small side creek; next three species found down the creek at the North Fork 1.26 r 68 western columbine Aquilegia formosa 50 / 7 54 1.26 r 69 tall mannagrass Glyceria elata 50 / 3 35 1.26 r 70 thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus 50 / 5 32 1.27 l Local high point; sign: "Entering Mount San Jacinto State Park Wilderness" 1.28 b 71 bracken Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens 99 / 9 63 1.30 Cross small side creek Plants at and near first crossing of North Fork given in alphabetical order of scientific name: 1.32 l 72 spike bentgrass Agrostis exarata 1 / 1 20 1.32 l 73 rough bentgrass Agrostis scabra 5 / 1 16 1.32 74 purple false-gilia Allophyllum divaricatum 99 / 9 26 1.32 r 75 fragile sheath sedge Carex fracta 50 / 7 53 1.32 b 76 giant red paintbrush Castilleja miniata ssp. miniata 15 / 2 38 1.32 77 green miner's lettuce Claytonia parviflora ssp. viridis 10 / 1 12 1.32 l 78 slender hairgrass Deschampsia elongata 5 / 1 40 1.32 l 79 glaucus willowherb Epilobium glaberrimum ssp. glaberrimum 5 / 2 30 1.32 80 Cleveland's horkelia Horkelia clevelandii 10 / 2 31 1.32 b 81 long-styled rush Juncus longistylis 20 / 1 20 1.32 l 82 lemon lily Lilium parryi 39 / 3 43 1.32 r 83 broad-leaved lotus Lotus crassifolius var. crassifolius 3 / 3 26 1.32 84 Brewer's monkeyflower Mimulus breweri 99 / 5 19 1.32 l 85 musk monkeyflower Mimulus moschatus 99 / 5 41 1.32 r 86 sticky cinquefoil Potentilla glandulosa ssp. reflexa 30 / 5 38 1.32 l 87 willow-leaved dock Rumex salicifolius var. salicifolius 5 / 1 22 1.32 l 88 pearlwort Sagina saginoides 35 / 2 28 1.32 l 89 ranger's buttons Sphenosciadium capitellatum 50 / 5 38 1.32 Cross North Fork of San Jacinto River; elevation 6880 feet (2097 m) 1.32 b 90 scarlet monkeyflower Mimulus cardinalis 10 / 2 37 1.32 r 91 groundsmoke Gayophytum diffusum ssp. parviflorum 50 / 2 31 1.33 l 92 Parish's lupine Lupinus latifolius var. parishii 10 / 2 29 1.33 l 93 brittle bladder fern Cystopteris fragilis 20 / 3 42 1.33 l 94 abrupt-beak sedge Carex abrupta 10 / 2 22 1.35 First of many more switchbacks 1.40 b 95 changeable phacelia Phacelia mutabilis 99 / 9 43 1.40 b 96 Jepson's blue wildrye Elymus glaucus ssp. jepsonii 50 / 5 22 1.44 b 97 Sierra gooseberry Ribes roezlii var. roezlii 10 / 5 43 1.44 r 98 Grinnell's beardtongue Penstemon grinnellii var. grinnellii 9 / 1 41 1.46 Check for leafy daisy, Erigeron foliosus 1.47 r 99 plain mariposa lily Calochortus invenustus 99 / 9 35 1.47 l 100 western wallflower Erysimum capitatum ssp. capitatum 99 / 9 66 1.50 101 Martin's paintbrush Castilleja applegatei ssp. martinii 4 / 3 49 1.61 r 102 golden yarrow Eriophyllum confertiflorum var. confertiflorum 8 / 1 92 1.70 103 southern miner's lettuce Claytonia perfoliata ssp. mexicana 5 / 1 35 1.98 l 104 southern Sierra phacelia Phacelia austromontana 99 / 1 3 1.99 r View of 8000 foot knoll 0.3 miles south 2.17 105 prickly cryptantha Cryptantha muricata 15 / 2 28 2.17 b 106 ~ slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycaulus 10 / 3 21 2.23 r Jct. cross-country route to 8000 foot knoll that is 0.3 miles due south. Additional species found there, in alphabetical order by scientific name: 107 Parish's bedstraw Galium parishii 1 / 1 29 108 prickly hawkweed Hieracium horridum 50 / 1 18 109 mountain spray Holodiscus microphyllus var. microphyllus 3 / 1 28 110 western polypody Polypodium hesperium 40 / 1 10 111 cliff cinquefoil Potentilla rimicola 74 / 1 4 112 Watson's spike-moss Selaginella watsonii 15 / 1 11 2.25 l 113 Fendler's meadow-rue Thalictrum fendleri var. fendleri 10 / 2 31 2.30 114 wax currant Ribes cereum var. cereum 1 / 1 56 2.30 r 115 pine violet Viola pinetorum ssp. pinetorum 50 / 5 6 2.30 r 116 Nevada cinquefoil Potentilla glandulosa ssp. nevadensis 5 / 3 26 2.30 r 117 mountain carpet clover Trifolium monanthum var. grantianum 99 / 2 38 2.30 r 118 hairy wood rush Luzula comosa 20 / 2 28 2.30 r 119 Bolander's blue grass Poa bolanderi 10 / 2 4 2.30 r 120 pine cryptantha Cryptantha simulans 20 / 1 10 2.30 r 121 Suksdorf's monkeyflower Mimulus suksdorfii 5 / 1 6 2.40 r 122 blue elderberry Sambucus mexicana 5 / 1 87 2.53 l 123 southern mountain-monardella Monardella australis 50 / 3 23 2.63 r 124 Wright's collinsia Collinsia torreyi var. wrightii 99 / 1 5 2.63 Cross North Fork of San Jacinto River; elevation ~8030 feet (2448 m). Species in this area given in alphabetical order: l 125 Idaho bentgrass Agrostis idahoensis 5 / 1 47 b 126 scented shooting star Dodecatheon redolens 99 / 2 8 l 127 ssp willowherb Epilobium ciliatum 3 / 1 33 l 128 white-flowered willowherb Epilobium lactiflorum 10 / 1 3 r 129 California geranium Geranium californicum 3 / 1 27 l 130 long-anthered rush Juncus macrandrus 10 / 1 10 b 131 larger mountain monkeyflower Mimulus tilingii 20 / 2 45 b 132 arrowhead butterweed Senecio triangularis 99 / 4 7 l 133 thyme-leaved speedwell Veronica serpyllifolia ssp. humifusa 10 / 2 22 2.83 l 134 Parish's snowberry Symphoricarpos rotundifolius var. parishii 99 / 3 55 2.83 l 135 California brome Bromus carinatus var. carinatus 20 / 9 55 2.83 r 136 brown sedge Carex subfusca 1 / 1 11 2.86 r 137 California corn lily Veratrum californicum var. californicum 50 / 2 24 2.89 Cross main branch of moist drainage 2.89 r 138 subarctic lady-fern Athyrium filix-femina var. cyclosorum 10 / 1 20 2.89 r 139 few-flowering meadow-rue Thalictrum sparsiflorum 10 / 2 4 2.89 l 140 broad-lipped twayblade Listera convallarioides 99 / 1 1 2.90 Begin meadowy area; species found in the wet area in alphabetical order by scientific name: 141 swamp sedge Carex senta 20 / 1 46 142 common cryptantha Cryptantha affinis 99 / 1 1 143 ~ alpine shooting star Dodecatheon alpinum 5 / 1 7 144 Southern California rock draba Draba corrugata var. saxosa 10 / 1 5 145 fireweed Epilobium angustifolium ssp. circumvagum 5 / 1 24 146 primrose monkeyflower Mimulus primuloides ssp. primuloides 30 / 1 15 147 western cow-bane Oxypolis occidentalis 50 / 1 3 148 Parish's yampah Perideridia parishii 20 / 1 14 149 lodgepole pine Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana 7 / 1 35 150 white bog orchid Platanthera leucostachys 30 / 1 12 151 western bistort Polygonum bistortoides 40 / 1 10 152 Douglas' knotweed Polygonum douglasii ssp. douglasii 99 / 1 16 153 sp lesser or bog wintergreen Pyrola minor or P. asarifolia 41 / 1 1 154 mountain gooseberry Ribes montigenum 3 / 1 12 155 small white violet Viola macloskeyi 20 / 1 21 2.96 l (Large field of ranger's buttons, Sphenosciadium capitellatum) 3.13 Cross North Fork for last time; elevation 8480 feet (2585 m) 3.29 T-Jct. with PCT; highest point on loop; elevation 8640 feet (2633 m); go right; sign "(up): Little Round Valley 2.5; San Jacinto Peak 3.2; ((down): Strawberry Trail 2.5; Suicide Rock Trail 3.8; Banning Highway 6.3; (back): 7 Pines Trail"
Comments On Specific Species Silene parishii. Only 18 plants are in the vicinity of trail, with the rest at the 8000' knoll.
We thank Pam Pallette for her help with the 13 July 2010 fieldwork.
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Updated 6 July 2013.