Plant Guide to Cactus Spring Trail, Santa Rosa Mountains
The guide has been updated from all the field work through 10/4/2016, but the text on this page has mostly not been updated, and a lot of it is very out of date.
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
Fig. 1. Google Earth view looking east of the first part of the Cactus Spring Trail, with some landmarks labeled. Click on the picture for a larger version.
Introduction
The Cactus Spring Trail is said to be the only official trail in the Santa Rosa Wilderness; whether that is true or not, it is apparently the main trail. (The Sawmill Trail, which leaves from the same parking lot, is a wide road, which is open to vehicular traffic.)
And what a delightful trail it is! It traverses absolutely beautiful country, beginning at an elevation of ~4045 feet. Surprisingly, the trail travels along drainages for most of the distance to Horsethief Creek. In fact, much of the trail is indistinguishable from a drainage, so one has to be a bit alert when the trail briefly leaves a drainage to go to the next one. The only real non-drainage sections in the portion up to Horsethief Creek are the saddles between drainages.
As a result, the trail has significant ups and downs all along the portion to Horsethief Creek. The net elevation gain going to Horsethief Creek and back is ~1165 feet, not the (net) elevation difference of 900 feet quoted in Ferranti's 100 Great hikes in and near Palm Springs, 2000. It is very surprising that any guidebook would quote the misleading net elevation difference instead of the elevation gain and loss one actually experiences while hiking a trail.
Past Horsethief Creek, the trail briefly ascends a ridge before joining a beautiful wash which leads most of the way to Cactus Spring.
This trail is remarkably rich in species. There are 203 taxa found on the trail itself, and an additional 25 taxa are found just off-trail along it. The richness is due to two main factors. First, the trail contains both low-elevation desert species and higher-elevation montane species, due to its elevation range of 3480 to 4200 feet. The desert species are near their upper elevation ranges, and the montane species are near their lower elevation range. Second, the trail samples many different habitats, including slopes of all aspect ratios (north, south, east and west facing slopes), flat areas, and riparian areas.
For a number of beautiful photographs of species in bloom on this trail on 2 May 2008, see Michael Charters' photo gallery.
The trailhead is 8 miles east of the junction of SR74 and SR371, and is well-signed on SR74. Go south (right if coming from Hemet or Anza) at the sign for 0.4 mile, then turn left onto the wide dirt road. Park in the flat area north of the trash disposal. The class A parking lot, with space for zillions of cars and with a beautiful wood railing all around it, is signed "Sawmill Trailhead".
The parking lot is immediately north of the Riverside County trash transfer station, so if you park and see lots of dumpsters to the south, you're in the right place.
There is a sign at the southeast end of the parking lot that point you toward the Trail, via the southernmost road to the east. Don't take the potentially-confusing "Elk trail", which is simply the driveway to the Elks Lodge, which, for some reason, is just past the northeast corner of the parking lot.
It is 0.15 miles from the east edge of the parking lot to the signed Cactus Spring Trail.
This guide begins at the fire hydrant 0.02 miles past the southeast end of the parking lot.
From the parking lot to Horsethief Creek and back is 4.74 miles roundtrip, with 1165 feet of elevation gain and loss. Of the 1165 feet, 300 feet is gained on the way out, and 865 feet on the way back.
From the parking lot to the creek just beyond Cactus Spring and back is 9.86 miles roundtrip, with 1920 feet of elevation gain and loss. Of the 1902 feet, 1055 feet is gained on the way out, and 865 feet on the way back.
GPS points, all NAD27 and decimal degrees (NOT the archaic degrees - minutes - seconds)
| Location | Latitude (° N) | Longitude (° E) | Elevation (feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SR74 turnoff | 33.58332 | -116.45463 | 4030 |
| Closest parking space at Trailhead parking to the entrance (farthest parking space from the trail side | 33.57987 | -116.44987 | 4039 |
| Actual signed Cactus Spring trailhead | 33.57930 | -116.44618 | 4013 |
Highlights of This Trail
Some of the botanical highlights of this trail are:
- There are twenty taxa found only here and not in any of the other 127 plant trail guides we've done in southern California. There are an additional twenty taxa found only on this trail and one other plant trail guides.
- There is a marble bedrock area on the trail, which is also unusual in southern California. So far, there are no local endemics found on it, although one taxon comes close.
- Sarcostemma crispum is a disjunct from Arizona which lives only in the Pinyon Flat area. The correct determination of these plants was not known until 9 June 2009, when Jordan Zylstra figured them out.
For one full year previously, Jordan and I discussed how weird these plants were by email. These plants have a green corolla, and large crisped dark green leaves unlike any Sarcostemma we'd ever seen. However, since S. cynanchoides has been reported to have a green corolla in Utah and Arizona, I thought these plants must be that id, since the anther head is free of the corolla ring. But on 9 June 2009, after I sent Jordan links to pictures of S. cynanchoides in Utah and Arizona, Jordan examined pictures of other Sarcostemma species that lived in Arizona, and found the true determination for the plants here.
As a result of Jordan's work, this species was added to the Second Edition Jepson Manual.
The taxa found only on this guide, as of 6/1/08, are:
| Family | Scientific Name | Common Name |
|---|---|---|
| Apiaceae | Lomatium mohavense | Mojave lomatium |
| Boraginaceae | Cryptantha decipiens | gravel cryptantha |
| Boraginaceae | Pectocarya setosa | moth combseed |
| Campanulaceae | Nemacladus sigmoideus | small-flowered nemacladus |
| Euphorbiaceae | Tragia ramosa | desert noseburn |
| Fabaceae | Astragalus coccineus | scarlet milk-vetch |
| Fabaceae | Marina orcuttii var. orcuttii | California marina |
| Hydrophyllaceae | Phacelia campanularia ssp. campanularia | desert bluebells |
| Hydrophyllaceae | Phacelia cryptantha | limestone phacelia |
| Lamiaceae | Salazaria mexicana | Mexican bladder sage |
| Liliaceae | Allium fimbriatum var. fimbriatum | fringed onion |
| Liliaceae | Calochortus palmeri var. munzii | Munz's mariposa lily |
| Nyctaginaceae | Mirabilis pumila | trailing four-o'clock |
| Onagraceae | Oenothera californica ssp. avita | California evening-primrose |
| Poaceae | Bouteloua curtipendula | side-oats grama |
| Polemoniaceae | Gilia diegensis | coastal gilia |
| Polygonaceae | Chorizanthe xanti var. leucotheca | white-bracted spineflower |
| Polygonaceae | Eriogonum maculatum | spotted buckwheat |
| Rosaceae | Prunus fasciculata var. fasciculata | desert almond |
| Rutaceae | Thamnosma montana | turpentine broom |
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. We had 128 trails in our database when this histogram was made; 2 of those trails, including this one, are in this area of Santa Rosa Mountain. A number of "1" means the taxon has only been found on this trail among the trails in our database; numbers of "2" or smaller may indicate taxa found only in this area of Santa Rosa Mountains.
| Number of Trails Containing A Taxon | Number Of Taxa On This Trail | % of Taxa On This Trail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 10% |
| 2 | 20 | 10% |
| 3 | 19 | 10% |
| 4 | 14 | 7% |
| 5 | 4 | 2% |
| 1-5 | 77 | 39% |
| 6-10 | 44 | 22% |
| 11-15 | 24 | 12% |
| 16-20 | 11 | 6% |
| 21-25 | 11 | 6% |
| 26-30 | 9 | 5% |
| 31-35 | 8 | 4% |
| 36-40 | 4 | 2% |
| 41-45 | 4 | 2% |
| 46-50 | 3 | 2% |
| 51-55 | 2 | 1% |
| 56-60 | 0 | 0% |
| 60-65 | 1 | 1% |
| 66-70 | 2 | 1% |
| Total Taxa | 200 | 100% |
We found 3 additional species not in the above table, since they have not been fully identified yet. The unidentified ones are marked with ? or sp in the id? column in the guide, and have no entries in the #all column.
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" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/31/2006 | 1 | 92 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 3 |
| 11/12/2006 | 2 | 96 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 1 |
| 11/12/2006 | 2 | 102 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 2 |
| 11/16/2006 | 3 | 102 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 1 |
| 11/16/2006 | 3 | 122 | 3 | 12 | 23 | 1 |
| 11/20/2006 | 4 | 128 | 1 | 10 | 26 | 1 |
| 3/28/2007 | 5 | 127 | 0 | 9 | 23 | 1 |
| 4/30/2008 | 7 | |||||
| 5/24/2008 | 8 | |||||
| 5/28/2008 | 9 | 188 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| 5/28/2008 | 9 | 203 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
The fieldwork on 10/31/06 was only to mile 1.18. There are thus two entries for 11/12/06. The first gives the results only up to mile 1.18; the second gives the results to mile 1.43. Similarly, there are two entries for 11/16/06, which was the first time the guide was extended to Horsethief Creek, and for 5/28/08, which gives the results for the first the guide was extended from Horsethief Creek to the Creek just beyond Cactus Spring.
The numbers were not recorded separately for 4/30/08 and 5/24/08. Most of the new taxa reported on 5/28/08 came from those two previous trips.
Botanical Trip Reports
The Plant Guide
The column #Pls gives the number of plants of each species on and in the area of the trail, and the number of distinct locations along the trail that contain that species, up to a maximum of 99 plants and 9 locations. Many of the numbers used the old convention of only counting plants within an arms-length of the trail, but some of the numbers include plants that can easily be reached from the trail. Some species do not yet have abundance estimates; that column is either blank for those species, or contains an x.
The Scientific Name is mostly in the Second Edition Jepson Manual system.
An asterisk before the common name indicates a non-native species.
See also Checklist of the species in traditional family order, which contains links for every species to the Jepson Manual treatment and to Calphotos.
The mileages up to mile 2.3 in the guide have been fit to Topo!, which probably means the mileages are a bit on the low side. Mileages post mile 2.3 come from a detailed GPS recording of the trail, but the GPS readings were not terribly accurate due to signal multipath from the many exposed rocks in the area.
Version for printing, without lines and other text on this page: html (10 pages) or pdf Clickbook booklet (3 double-sided pages). (See printing instructions for an explanation of these options)
| Mile | S | # | id? | Common Name | Scientific Name | #Pls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The first four species are in the parking lot area (the Pediomelum is along the entrance road across from the turn into the parking lot) and not yet seen on the trail (the Pediomelum is also vouchered from near Cactus Spring) | ||||||
| 1 | Sonoran spurge | Chamaesyce micromera | x / 1 | |||
| 2 | coyote melon | Cucurbita palmata | x / 1 | |||
| 3 | Indian breadroot | Pediomelum californicum | 5 / 2 | |||
| 4 | *Russian thistle | Salsola tragus | x / 1 | |||
| The following two species are vouchered from “Pinyon Flats area, c. 0.5 mi west of the Dolomite Mine”, and may or may not be on the Cactus Spring Trail itself | ||||||
| spike dropseed | Sporobolus contractus | V / | ||||
| sand dropseed | Sporobolus cryptandrus | V / | ||||
| Begin trail guide just past southeast corner of parking lot, at fire hydrant; elevation ~4045 feet (1233 m). | ||||||
| 0.00 | b | 5 | fringed onion | Allium fimbriatum var. fimbriatum | 20 / 1 | |
| 0.00 | b | 6 | western tansy-mustard | Descurainia pinnata | 30 / 5 | |
| 0.00 | b | 7 | whispering bells | Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | r | 8 | *rattail fescue | Festuca myuros | 5 / 1 | |
| 0.00 | b | 9 | *redstem filaree | Erodium cicutarium | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 10 | rattlesnake weed | Chamaesyce albomarginata | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 11 | Mojave lomatium | Lomatium mohavense | 10 / 5 | |
| 0.00 | b | 12 | bur-ragweed | Ambrosia acanthicarpa | 20 / 2 | |
| 0.00 | b | 13 | matchweed | Gutierrezia sarothrae | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 14 | San Jacinto mariposa lily | Calochortus palmeri var. munzii | 3 / 1 | |
| 0.00 | r | 15 | coastal gilia | Gilia diegensis | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | r | 16 | red shanks | Adenostoma sparsifolium | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | r | 17 | bristly bird's beak | Cordylanthus rigidus ssp. setiger | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | l | 18 | Pima rhatany | Krameria erecta | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | l | 19 | *Oriental mustard | Sisymbrium orientale | 30 / 5 | |
| 0.00 | l | 20 | desert scrub oak | Quercus cornelius-mulleri | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 21 | desert prickly-pear | Opuntia phaeacantha | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | r | 22 | narrowleaf goldenbush | Ericameria linearifolia | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | r | 23 | desert needlegrass | Stipa speciosa | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 24 | Engelmann's hedgehog cactus | Echinocereus engelmannii | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 25 | Davidson's buckwheat | Eriogonum davidsonii | 40 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 26 | *red brome | Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | l | 27 | cupped-leaf ceanothus | Ceanothus perplexans | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | l | 28 | chaparral yucca | Hesperoyucca whipplei | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | End fence | |||||
| 0.00 | r | 29 | moth combseed | Pectocarya setosa | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 30 | *Mediterranean schismus | Schismus barbatus | 99 / 3 | |
| 0.00 | b | 31 | Mojave prickly-pear | Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | r | 32 | short-winged deerweed | Acmispon glaber var. brevialatus | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | l | 33 | sugar bush | Rhus ovata | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | l | 34 | Wallace's woolly daisy | Eriophyllum wallacei | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | l | 35 | sand cress | Calyptridium monandrum | 20 / 2 | |
| 0.00 | l | 36 | mountain red-root cryptantha | Cryptantha micrantha var. lepida | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 37 | desert globemallow | Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | b | 38 | California buckwheat | Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.00 | r | Signpost: "Please stay on designated routes only" | ||||
| 0.00 | l | 39 | Patagonia plantain | Plantago patagonica | 20 / 2 | |
| 0.00 | l | 40 | popcorn flower | Cryptantha intermedia var. intermedia | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.01 | b | 41 | Mohave yucca | Yucca schidigera | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.01 | l | 42 | hairy-podded pepper-grass | Lepidium lasiocarpum ssp. lasiocarpum | 30 / 1 | |
| 0.01 | l | 43 | brittle spineflower | Chorizanthe brevicornu var. brevicornu | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.01 | r | 44 | desert agave | Agave deserti | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.01 | l | 45 | desert woolly-star | Eriastrum eremicum ssp. eremicum | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.01 | l | 46 | spear-leaved mountain dandelion | Agoseris retrorsa | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.01 | r | 47 | giant four o'clock | Mirabilis multiflora var. pubescens | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.02 | r | 48 | wire-lettuce | Stephanomeria pauciflora | 20 / 3 | |
| 0.02 | r | 49 | common phacelia | Phacelia distans | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.02 | r | 50 | desert chicory | Rafinesquia neomexicana | 10 / 5 | |
| 0.02 | l | 51 | oak mistletoe | Phoradendron serotinum ssp. tomentosum | 3 / 3 | |
| 0.02 | l | (fringed amaranth, Amaranthus fimbriatus; western bernardia, Bernardia incana; silver puffs, Uropappus lindleyi) | ||||
| 0.03 | r | 52 | *downy brome | Bromus tectorum | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.03 | l | 53 | odora | Porophyllum gracile | 20 / 9 | |
| 0.03 | l | 54 | San Felipe dogweed | Adenophyllum porophylloides | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.03 | l | (fluff grass, Dasyochloa pulchella; California juniper, Juniperus californica) | ||||
| 0.03 | r | 55 | Parry's nolina | Nolina parryi | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.04 | r | 56 | silver puffs | Uropappus lindleyi | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.04 | r | 57 | Fremont pincushion | Chaenactis fremontii | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.05 | l | (lotebush, Ziziphus parryi var. parryi) | ||||
| 0.07 | l | 58 | turpentine broom | Thamnosma montana | 40 / 9 | |
| 0.09 | r | (pinyon pine, Pinus monophylla) | ||||
| 0.10 | c | 59 | chia | Salvia columbariae | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.10 | l | 60 | Payson's wild cabbage | Caulanthus simulans | 2 / 1 | |
| 0.11 | r | 61 | Fremont's goosefoot | Chenopodium fremontii | 20 / 5 | |
| 0.12 | l | 62 | desert bitterbrush | Purshia tridentata var. glandulosa | 10 / 5 | |
| 0.12 | l | 63 | Wright's buckwheat | Eriogonum wrightii var. membranaceum | 40 / 9 | |
| 0.12 | l | 64 | side-oats grama | Bouteloua curtipendula | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.12 | l | 65 | pinyon pine | Pinus monophylla | 40 / 9 | |
| 0.12 | l | 66 | purple three-awn | Aristida purpurea | 10 / 9 | |
| 0.12 | r | 67 | squirreltail | Elymus elymoides | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.13 | r | 68 | basketbush | Rhus aromatica | 10 / 5 | |
| 0.13 | b | 69 | smoothleaf yerba santa | Eriodictyon trichocalyx var. lanatum | 20 / 5 | |
| 0.13 | r | 70 | desert almond | Prunus fasciculata var. fasciculata | 10 / 4 | |
| 0.13 | r | 71 | fringed amaranth | Amaranthus fimbriatus | 10 / 1 | |
| 0.13 | r | 72 | Palmer's amaranth | Amaranthus palmeri | 20 / 1 | |
| 0.13 | 73 | sandhill amaranth | Amaranthus torreyi | x / 1 | ||
| 0.13 | r | 74 | *shortpod mustard | Hirschfeldia incana | 2 / 1 | |
| 0.13 | r | 75 | white-stemmed blazing star | Mentzelia albicaulis | 3 / 2 | |
| 0.13 | r | 76 | sacred datura | Datura wrightii | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.13 | r | 77 | ~ | Jones' prickly-nut cryptantha | Cryptantha muricata var. jonesii | 20 / 3 |
| 0.13 | r | Cross small drainage, which briefly joins road | ||||
| 0.13 | r | 78 | coyote tobacco | Nicotiana attenuata | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.13 | r | 79 | white mugwort | Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. albula | 10 / 5 | |
| 0.13 | r | 80 | scarlet bugler | Penstemon centranthifolius | 20 / 5 | |
| 0.13 | l | 81 | birch-leaf mountain-mahogany | Cercocarpus betuloides var. betuloides | 5 / 3 | |
| 0.13 | l | Small drainage exits road | ||||
| 0.14 | r | 82 | wavyleaf twinevine | Funastrum crispum | 8 / 1 | |
| 0.14 | r | 83 | narrow-leaved brickellia | Brickellia oblongifolia var. linifolia | 20 / 5 | |
| 0.15 | l | 84 | desert lotus | Acmispon rigidus | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.16 | b | 85 | *foxtail barley | Hordeum murinum | 10 / 2 | |
| 0.16 | l | 86 | Acton encelia | Encelia actoni | 10 / 4 | |
| 0.17 | T-jct. with road; turn right on it | |||||
| 0.17 | r | 87 | thyme-leafed spurge | Chamaesyce serpyllifolia ssp. serpyllifolia | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.17 | r | 88 | fivewing spiderling | Boerhavia triquetra var. intermedia | 3 / 2 | |
| 0.17 | r | 89 | needle grama | Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoides | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.19 | l | Jct. Cactus Spring Trail; turn left and take it | ||||
| 0.19 | r | Sign: "Cactus Spring Trail 5E01 (ahead); Sawmill Trail 5E03 (right)" | ||||
| 0.19 | r | 90 | scale-bud | Anisocoma acaulis | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.20 | r | Display board: "Cactus Springs Trail …" | ||||
| 0.22 | r | (bigberry manzanita, Arctostaphylos glauca) | ||||
| 0.22 | r | 91 | fluff grass | Dasyochloa pulchella | 20 / 5 | |
| 0.22 | r | Sign: "Bikes prohibited in Santa Rosa Wilderness" | ||||
| 0.24 | r | (narrowleaf bedstraw, Galium angustifolium ssp. angustifolium) | ||||
| 0.26 | r | Jct. small drainage that joins trail | ||||
| 0.27 | r | 92 | desert monardella | Monardella nana | 40 / 9 | |
| 0.28 | l | 93 | bigberry manzanita | Arctostaphylos glauca | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.28 | l | 94 | hollyleaf redberry | Rhamnus ilicifolia | 5 / 5 | |
| 0.32 | Y-jct; old road continues straight; take trail to right | |||||
| 0.32 | r | Sign: "Cactus Spring Trail 5E01; Horsethief Creek 2 1/4 mi; Cactus Spring 4 mi; Agua Alta Spring 10 mi" (gone in 2015) | ||||
| 0.33 | r | Wilderness Sign-In Box (for permit; gone in 2015) | ||||
| 0.33 | l | 95 | California popcorn flower | Plagiobothrys collinus var. fulvescens | 5 / 1 | |
| 0.33 | l | 96 | six-weeks grama | Bouteloua barbata var. barbata | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.34 | l | 97 | trailing four-o'clock | Mirabilis albida | 20 / 3 | |
| 0.34 | r | 98 | ~ | *tumble-mustard | Sisymbrium altissimum | 1 / 1 |
| 0.34 | l | 99 | western bernardia | Bernardia incana | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.34 | b | 100 | California juniper | Juniperus californica | 20 / 9 | |
| 0.34 | r | 101 | white-bracted spineflower | Chorizanthe xanti var. leucotheca | 30 / 3 | |
| 0.34 | Local low point on trail; elevation 4000 feet (1219 m) | |||||
| 0.35 | c | 102 | Schott's calico | Loeseliastrum schottii | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.36 | Minor local high point on trail | |||||
| 0.37 | l | 103 | white-margined oxytheca | Sidotheca emarginata | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.37 | l | weird popcorn flower variant with almost entirely vegetative growth; probably C. intermedia | ||||
| 0.37 | l | 104 | bajada lupine | Lupinus concinnus | 20 / 2 | |
| 0.37 | r | 105 | wing-nut cryptantha | Cryptantha pterocarya | 10 / 2 | |
| 0.38 | l | (bird's-foot fern, Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata) | ||||
| 0.38 | Jct. small drainage that joins trail | |||||
| 0.40 | Trails leaves small drainage; minor local low point on trail | |||||
| 0.40 | r | 106 | bird's-foot fern | Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata | 5 / 5 | |
| 0.40 | b | (beavertail cactus, Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris) | ||||
| 0.40 | r | (lace-pod, Thysanocarpus laciniatus) | ||||
| 0.40 | l | 107 | ~ | San Bernardino suncup | Camissoniopsis confusa | 5 / 2 |
| 0.40 | b | 108 | Wright's buckwheat | Eriogonum wrightii var. nodosum | 20 / 5 | |
| 0.41 | l | 109 | golden-bowl mariposa | Calochortus concolor | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.42 | r | (white sage, Salvia apiana) | ||||
| 0.42 | Minor local high point on trail | |||||
| 0.43 | b | 110 | beavertail cactus | Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris | 20 / 9 | |
| 0.44 | r | 111 | Palmer's milk-vetch | Astragalus palmeri | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.44 | r | Woodrat's nest | ||||
| 0.45 | l | 112 | star gilia | Gilia stellata | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.45 | r | (dense mistletoe, Phoradendron bolleanum, on juniper) | ||||
| 0.46 | r | 113 | Gander's cholla | Cylindropuntia ganderi | 5 / 5 | |
| 0.47 | r | 114 | woolly Indian paintbrush | Castilleja foliolosa | 30 / 5 | |
| 0.47 | r | 115 | little-leaved chaparral beardtongue | Keckiella antirrhinoides var. microphylla | 30 / 7 | |
| 0.48 | l | (desert apricot, Prunus fremontii) | ||||
| 116 | yellow tackstem | Calycoseris parryi | x / 1 | |||
| 0.49 | Trail rounds ridge and curves right 90° | |||||
| 0.50 | r | 117 | white sage | Salvia apiana | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.50 | b | 118 | desert apricot | Prunus fremontii | 20 / 9 | |
| 0.51 | b | 119 | desert bluebells | Phacelia campanularia ssp. campanularia | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.51 | b | (San Jacinto beardtongue, Penstemon clevelandii var. connatus) | ||||
| 0.51 | r | 120 | sweetbush | Bebbia juncea var. aspera | 20 / 3 | |
| 0.52 | r | 121 | Coulter's snapdragon | Antirrhinum coulterianum | 2 / 1 | |
| 0.52 | b | 122 | catclaw | Senegalia greggii | 30 / 7 | |
| 0.53 | r | Trail curves left to cross Deep Canyon drainage | ||||
| 0.53 | r | 123 | strigose lotus | Acmispon strigosus | 10 / 3 | |
| 0.53 | l | (mountain California-fuchsia, Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium) | ||||
| 0.53 | l | 124 | common monkeyflower | Mimulus guttatus | 10 / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 125 | ~ | horseweed | Erigeron canadensis | 1 / 1 |
| 0.53 | Cross Deep Canyon drainage; local low point; elevation 3880 feet (1183 m) | |||||
| 0.53 | b | 126 | false monkeyflower | Mimulus pilosus | 10 / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 127 | floriferous monkeyflower | Mimulus floribundus | 10 / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 128 | lesser paintbrush | Castilleja minor ssp. spiralis | 5 / 2 | |
| 0.53 | r | 129 | ~ | little spring beauty | Claytonia exigua ssp. exigua | 10 / 2 |
| 0.53 | l | 130 | *tocalote | Centaurea melitensis | 10 / 1 | |
| The following species are found in the drainage off-trail, and could well appear on trail in some years. They are given in alphabetical order by scientific name. | ||||||
| 0.53 | r | 131 | *tumble pigweed | Amaranthus albus | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 132 | dwarf white milk-vetch | Astragalus didymocarpus var. dispermus | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 133 | canchalagua | Zeltnera venusta | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 134 | spreading fleabane | Erigeron divergens | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 135 | common bedstraw | Galium aparine | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 136 | western marsh cudweed | Gnaphalium palustre | 5 / 3 | |
| 0.53 | l | 137 | few-flowered heterocodon | Heterocodon rariflorum | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 138 | toad rush | Juncus bufonius var. bufonius | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 139 | iris-leaved rush | Juncus xiphioides | x / 2 | |
| 0.53 | l | 140 | Spanish clover | Acmispon americanus var. americanus | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 141 | dwarf lupine | Lupinus bicolor | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 142 | scarlet monkeyflower | Mimulus cardinalis | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 143 | ~ | little redstem monkeyflower | Mimulus rubellus | x / 1 |
| 0.53 | l | 144 | limestone phacelia | Phacelia affinis | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 145 | Lemmon's phacelia | Phacelia lemmonii | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | l | 146 | branching phacelia | Phacelia ramosissima | x / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 147 | sp | dock | Rumex sp. | x / 1 |
| 0.53 | r | 148 | rigid hedge-nettle | Stachys rigida | 10 / 3 | |
| 0.53 | r | 149 | California brickellbush | Brickellia californica | 4 / 4 | |
| 0.53 | b | 150 | deergrass | Muhlenbergia rigens | 30 / 5 | |
| 0.53 | r | 151 | desert baccharis | Baccharis sergiloides | 99 / 9 | |
| 0.53 | r | 152 | western false-indigo | Amorpha fruticosa | 30 / 5 | |
| 0.53 | b | 153 | canyon dodder | Cuscuta subinclusa | 3 / 2 | |
| 0.53 | b | 154 | desert olive | Forestiera pubescens | 10 / 2 | |
| 0.53 | r | 155 | southern Chinese houses | Collinsia concolor | 10 / 1 | |
| 0.53 | r | 156 | sticky false-gilia | Allophyllum glutinosum | 10 / 3 | |
| 0.54 | r | 157 | southern honeysuckle | Lonicera subspicata var. denudata | 20 / 9 | |
| 0.54 | l | ~ | (red willow, Salix laevigata) | |||
| 0.55 | l | 158 | interior live oak | Quercus wislizeni var. frutescens | 2 / 2 | |
| 0.55 | r | 159 | California thistle | Cirsium occidentale var. californicum | 2 / 2 | |
| 0.55 | l | Very old junked car, truck and water tank | ||||
| 0.55 | r | 160 | hollyleaf cherry | Prunus ilicifolia ssp. ilicifolia | 3 / 3 | |
| 0.56 | Enter marble area and the so-called "Dolomite Mine" | |||||
| 0.56 | l | (scarlet milk-vetch, Astragalus coccineus; rolled-leaf spurge, Chamaesyce revoluta; granite prickly phlox, Leptodactylon pungens; and dropseed, Sporobolus sp. on north side of mine) | ||||
| 0.57 | r | 161 | San Jacinto beardtongue | Penstemon clevelandii var. connatus | 40 / 9 | |
| 0.60 | r | Jct. road | ||||
| 0.60 | r | 162 | pancake prickly-pear | Opuntia chlorotica | 10 / 4 | |
| 0.61 | l | 163 | lotebush | Ziziphus parryi var. parryi | 30 / 9 | |
| 0.62 | b | These plants are either a hairier form of Eriodictyon trichocalyx var. lanatum, or possibly Eriodictyon crassifolium var. nigrescens | ||||
| 0.62 | l | ~ | (perennial rock-cress, Arabis perennans) | |||
| 0.62 | Y-jct; stay right; old mine road is to left; local high point; elevation ~3940 feet (1200 m) | |||||
| The following species is vouchered from someplace between Dolomite Mine and Horsethief Creek (winter ann, cespitose, 4-16 inches high, shady places like next to rocks): | ||||||
| ? | 164 | Bigelow's blue grass | Poa bigelovii | V / | ||
| 0.63 | r | 165 | lace-pod | Thysanocarpus laciniatus | 10 / 3 | |
| 0.64 | Cross small drainage and trail turns left 90° | |||||
| 0.68 | l | 166 | Parish's needlegrass | Stipa parishii var. parishii | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.73 | Cross small drainage; local low point; elevation ~3900 feet (1190 m) | |||||
| 0.74 | l | Jct. (short?) road | ||||
| 0.75 | b | 167 | San Jacinto buckwheat | Eriogonum apiculatum | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.79 | r | 168 | ashy silk tassel | Garrya flavescens | 4 / 4 | |
| 0.82 | l | Jct. mine road shaped like a "U" tangent to our trail | ||||
| 0.83 | r | Jct. road; sign: "Be prepared for hazardous conditions beyond this point" | ||||
| 0.83 | r | 169 | narrowleaf bedstraw | Galium angustifolium ssp. angustifolium | 10 / 9 | |
| 0.84 | Local high point on trail; elevation ~3930 feet (1198 m) | |||||
| 0.85 | Minor local low point on trail | |||||
| 0.88 | Second of two minor local high points on trail; begin steep downhill - watch your footing! | |||||
| 0.88 | b | (cane cholla, Cylindropuntia californica var. parkeri) | ||||
| 0.91 | l | 170 | California spear-leaved brickellia | Brickellia atractyloides var. arguta | 3 / 3 | |
| 0.91 | l | First of several specimens of desert scrub oak, Quercus cornelius-mulleri, with some much-larger leaves that are much-greener above | ||||
| 0.91 | r | 171 | beady lipfern | Cheilanthes covillei | 20 / 9 | |
| 0.92 | b | 172 | ~ | perennial rock-cress | Boechera perennans | 20 / 5 |
| 0.94 | r | 173 | limestone phacelia | Phacelia cryptantha | 50 / 9 | |
| 0.95 | Cross small drainage | |||||
| 0.95 | l | 174 | dense mistletoe | Phoradendron bolleanum | 1 / 1 | |
| 0.96 | Now on ridge between the two close drainages | |||||
| 0.97 | r | 175 | granite prickly phlox | Linanthus pungens | 20 / 9 | |
| 0.99 | Trail zigzags right then left | |||||
| 0.99 | r | First live San Jacinto beardtongue | Penstemon clevelandii var. connatus | / | ||
| 0.99 | r | (Fremont cottonwood, Populus fremontii ssp. fremontii) | ||||
| 1.00 | Cross drainage; local low point; elevation ~3840 feet (1170 m) | |||||
| 1.00 | b | 176 | southern goldenrod | Solidago confinis | 20 / 3 | |
| 1.01 | r | 177 | phlox-leaved bedstraw | Galium andrewsii ssp. andrewsii | 30 / 5 | |
| 1.03 | Local high point on trail | |||||
| 1.04 | r | yellow-flowered woolly Indian paintbrush | Castilleja foliolosa | / | ||
| 1.05 | r | 178 | mountain California-fuchsia | Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium | 50 / 7 | |
| 1.06 | r | 179 | white-flowering currant | Ribes indecorum | 1 / 1 | |
| 1.06 | r | 180 | rigid hedge-nettle | Stachys ajugoides var. rigida | 10 / 2 | |
| 1.06 | Cross drainage; local low point; elevation ~3820 feet (1165 m) | |||||
| 1.06 | b | 181 | arroyo willow | Salix lasiolepis | 2 / 2 | |
| 1.06 | r | adult California brickellbush, Brickellia californica | ||||
| 1.06 | l | 182 | southern California silver-lotus | Acmispon argophyllus var. argophyllus | 2 / 2 | |
| 1.08 | l | Trap-door spider's door | ||||
| 1.09 | l | 183 | small-flowered nemacladus | Nemacladus sigmoideus | 20 / 3 | |
| 1.16 | l | (Bigelow's monkeyflower, Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii) | ||||
| 1.17 | l | Sign: "Santa Rosa Wilderness" | ||||
| 1.18 | Local high point on trail; elevation ~3930 feet (1198 m) | |||||
| 1.21 | b | 184 | rock buckwheat | Eriogonum saxatile | 30 / 7 | |
| 1.29 | Cross drainage | |||||
| 1.29 | r | 185 | six-weeks three-awn | Aristida adscensionis | x / | |
| 1.30 | l | 186 | Hall's caulanthus | Caulanthus hallii | 1 / 1 | |
| 1.30 | l | (jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis) | ||||
| 1.34 | l | 187 | jojoba | Simmondsia chinensis | 10 / 4 | |
| 1.37 | l | 188 | Bigelow's desert four-o'clock | Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa | x / 1 | |
| 1.38 | r | 189 | rolled-leaf spurge | Chamaesyce revoluta | x / 2 | |
| 1.39 | b | 190 | thick-leaved ground cherry | Physalis crassifolia | 10 / 2 | |
| 1.39 | Enter big patch of prickly pear cactus on unusual steep planar slope perhaps caused by undercutting of slope by creek and landsliding | |||||
| 1.41 | l | 191 | Parish's poppy | Eschscholzia parishii | 99 / 9 | |
| 1.48 | Cross small side drainage | |||||
| 1.49 | Cross main drainage | |||||
| 1.49 | Cross main drainage again | |||||
| 1.49 | l | 192 | bearded cryptantha | Cryptantha barbigera var. barbigera | x / x | |
| 1.50 | l | 193 | cane bluestem | Bothriochloa barbinodis | 20 / 4 | |
| 1.50 | r | 194 | desert dudleya | Dudleya saxosa ssp. aloides | 20 / 5 | |
| 1.50 | Cross main drainage again | |||||
| 1.50 | l | ~ | (white desert-primrose, Oenothera caespitosa ssp. marginata) | |||
| 1.51 | l | 195 | narrowleaf willow | Salix exigua var. exigua | 5 / 2 | |
| 1.51 | l | 196 | golden yarrow | Eriophyllum confertiflorum var. confertiflorum | 5 / 3 | |
| 1.51 | l | 197 | white everlasting | Pseudognaphalium microcephalum | x / 1 | |
| 1.52 | l | 198 | annual malacothrix | Malacothrix clevelandii | 10 / 2 | |
| 1.52 | l | 199 | eucrypta | Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia var. bipinnatifida | 20 / 5 | |
| 1.52 | r | 200 | slender everlasting | Pseudognaphalium thermale | 10 / 3 | |
| 1.52 | r | Small drainage joins trail | ||||
| 1.53 | l | 201 | blue dicks | Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum | 40 / 9 | |
| 1.53 | r | 202 | ~ | virgin's bower | Clematis pauciflora | 2 / 2 |
| 1.54 | l | white blue dicks | Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum | / | ||
| 1.54 | l | 203 | silky lotus | Acmispon heermannii var. heermannii | 10 / 2 | |
| 1.55 | l | 204 | scarlet milk-vetch | Astragalus coccineus | 20 / 5 | |
| 1.60 | l | (short-leaved baccharis, Baccharis brachyphylla; needle-leaved rabbitbrush, Ericameria teretifolia) | ||||
| 1.60 | Cross drainage to its left | |||||
| 1.63 | Cross drainage to its right | |||||
| 1.67 | r | 205 | desert noseburn | Tragia ramosa | 5 / 1 | |
| 1.68 | b | 206 | smooth scouring rush | Equisetum laevigatum | 5 / 3 | |
| 1.68 | r | Cross side drainage | ||||
| 1.70 | l | 207 | narrowleaf monardella | Monardella linoides ssp. linoides | 5 / 3 | |
| 1.71 | Minor local high point on trail | |||||
| 1.73 | Cross creek with water; local low point on trail; elevation ~3640 feet (1110 m) | |||||
| 1.73 | b | 208 | Mexican rush | Juncus mexicanus | 30 / 3 | |
| 1.73 | b | 209 | *rabbits-foot grass | Polypogon monspeliensis | 1 / 1 | |
| 1.73 | l | 210 | Hooker's evening-primrose | Oenothera elata ssp. hirsutissima | 1 / 1 | |
| 1.74 | r | ~ | (southern cattail, Typha domingensis) | |||
| 1.75 | r | (stream orchid, Epipactis gigantea) | ||||
| 1.75 | r | 211 | velvet ash | Fraxinus velutina | 2 / 2 | |
| 1.75 | r | (wild grape, Vitis girdiana) | ||||
| 1.80 | 212 | starfish (Yuma) spurge | Chamaesyce setiloba | x / 1 | ||
| 1.83 | r | 213 | mountain grape-soda lupine | Lupinus excubitus var. austromontanus | 2 / 1 | |
| 1.84 | Local high point on trail; elevation ~3740 feet (1140 m) | |||||
| 1.93 | Check mileage to drainage | |||||
| 1.93 | Trail joins drainage | |||||
| 1.99 | l | 214 | teddy-bear cholla | Cylindropuntia bigelovii | 1 / 1 | |
| 2.06 | Trail leaves drainage to left | |||||
| 2.08 | l | Check for Kallstroemia | ||||
| 2.09 | 215 | Santa Rosa Mtns. linanthus | Leptosiphon floribundus ssp. hallii | 20 / 2 | ||
| 2.11 | Trail crosses drainage to right | |||||
| 2.13 | Cross major drainage which joins Horsethief Creek just downstream; local low point; elevation ~3560 feet (1085 m); (check mileage: is this actually 2.20?) | |||||
| 2.13 | r | (green miner's lettuce, Claytonia parviflora ssp. viridis; Bigelow's linanthus, Linanthus bigelovii) | ||||
| 2.13 | 216 | bracken | Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens | x / 1 | ||
| 2.15 | Local high point | |||||
| 2.20 | l | (Old horse corral made from manzanita branches) | ||||
| 2.26 | l | 217 | big galleta | Hilaria rigida | 3 / 3 | |
| 2.26 | r | 218 | California filago | Logfia filaginoides | 5 / 1 | |
| 2.26 | l | 219 | spearleaf | Matelea parvifolia | 21 / 1 | |
| 2.27 | Trail turns left 90° | |||||
| 2.27 | l | 220 | desert fish-hook cactus | Mammillaria tetrancistra | 3 / 2 | |
| 2.27 | r | 221 | Parish's goldeneye | Bahiopsis parishii | 20 / 5 | |
| 2.28 | l | 222 | *Bermuda grass | Cynodon dactylon | 5 / 1 | |
| 2.28 | Switchback right | |||||
| 2.29 | r | 223 | Latimer's woodland-gilia | Saltugilia latimeri | x / 1 | |
| 2.29 | r | 224 | fairy bowties, threadstem | Pterostegia drymarioides | 1 / 1 | |
| 2.30 | Switchback left | |||||
| 2.31 | l | mature California spear-leaved brickellia | Brickellia arguta var. arguta | / | ||
| 2.31 | Switchback right | |||||
| 2.32 | Switchback left and trail curves right | |||||
| 2.33 | l | 225 | Fremont cottonwood | Populus fremontii ssp. fremontii | 2 / 2 | |
| 2.33 | b | 226 | *tall fescue | Festuca arundinacea | 5 / 1 | |
| 2.33 | Cross Horsethief Creek; elevation ~3480 feet (1060 m) | |||||
| 2.34 | Trail turns right 90° | |||||
| 2.35 | l | 227 | wild tarragon | Artemisia dracunculus | 10 / 1 | |
| 2.35 | Y-jct; Trail is left branch; Trail to right goes to a shady rest spot; go right | |||||
| 2.36 | l | 228 | honey mesquite | Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana | 10 / 4 | |
| 2.37 | r | 229 | wild grape | Vitis girdiana | 1 / 1 | |
| 2.37 | r | 230 | ~ | creeping wild rye | Elymus triticoides | 10 / 1 |
| 2.37 | l | 231 | Torrey's scrub oak | Quercus acutidens | 5 / 1 | |
| The following four species are along Horsethief Creek in this area: | ||||||
| 2.37 | 232 | white alder | Alnus rhombifolia | x / 1 | ||
| 2.37 | 233 | ~ | western columbine | Aquilegia formosa | x / 1 | |
| 2.37 | 234 | blue-eyed grass | Sisyrinchium bellum | 20 / 3 | ||
| 2.37 | 235 | *saltcedar | Tamarix ramosissima | 50 / 9 | ||
| The following species is vouchered from “Cactus Springs Trail near Horsethief Creek” | ||||||
| - | 236 | slim tridens | Tridens muticus var. muticus | V / | ||
| 2.37 | Return to Y-jct | |||||
| 2.39 | Y-jct; go right | |||||
| 2.42 | Switchback left | |||||
| 2.43 | Switchback right | |||||
| 2.44 | l | 237 | Mexican bladder sage | Scutellaria mexicana | 5 / 3 | |
| 2.45 | Switchback left | |||||
| 2.46 | l | (desert mistletoe, Phoradendron californicum) | ||||
| 2.47 | r | 238 | star-flowered bedstraw | Galium stellatum | 1 / 1 | |
| 2.49 | l | 239 | pale suncup | Camissoniopsis pallida ssp. pallida | 20 / 5 | |
| 2.50 | l | 240 | California marina | Marina orcuttii var. orcuttii | 99 / 4 | |
| 2.51 | Switchback right | |||||
| 2.53 | Trail turns right 30 degrees | |||||
| 2.53 | l | 241 | gravel cryptantha | Cryptantha decipiens | 5 / 1 | |
| 2.55 | Switchback left | |||||
| 2.55 | Switchback right | |||||
| 2.60 | Saddle | |||||
| 2.62 | Smaller saddle | |||||
| 2.66 | Saddle | |||||
| 2.71 | Trail is now less steep on ridge | |||||
| 2.71 | r | 242 | papillate dodder | Cuscuta californica var. papillosa | 3 / 1 | |
| 2.74 | Saddle; local high point; trail now descends to eventually join wash | |||||
| 2.79 | Saddle | |||||
| 2.83 | l | ~ | (Ziegler's aster, Dieteria canescens var. ziegleri) | |||
| 2.86 | Join wash | |||||
| 2.88 | l | (Ericameria teretifolia high on cliff) | ||||
| 3.06 | Y-jct in wash; stay right | |||||
| 3.07 | 243 | slender wreathplant | Stephanomeria exigua ssp. exigua | 20 / 9 | ||
| 3.15 | l | 244 | long-leaved rush | Juncus macrophyllus | 5 / 2 | |
| 3.25 | r | 245 | Fendler's ivy-leaf tomatillo | Physalis hederifolia var. fendleri | 6 / 1 | |
| 3.48 | Y-jct in wash; stay right | |||||
| 3.51 | Rejoin other branch of wash | |||||
| 3.56 | Leave entrenched wash near here | |||||
| 3.64 | r | 246 | ~ | California evening-primrose | Oenothera californica ssp. avita | 10 / 2 |
| 3.74 | l | 247 | spotted buckwheat | Eriogonum maculatum | 30 / 3 | |
| 3.89 | l | 248 | five-needled thymophylla | Thymophylla pentachaeta var. belenidium | 99 / 1 | |
| 3.95 | l | Hillside of California marina, Marina orcuttii var. orcuttii | ||||
| 3.96 | l | Hillside of California marina, Marina orcuttii var. orcuttii | ||||
| 3.97 | r | Sign: "Trail" | ||||
| 4.05 | l | Sign: "Trail" | ||||
| 4.09 | Local high point | |||||
| 4.14 | l | Sign: "Trail"; local high point | ||||
| 4.36 | r | 249 | southern mountain woolly-star | Eriastrum densifolium ssp. austromontanum | 30 / 3 | |
| 4.42 | r | Sign: "Trail" | ||||
| 4.45 | r | Y-jct; stay right; Sign: "Trail" | ||||
| 4.51 | l | Sign: "Trail" | ||||
| 4.63 | Jct. wash with Cactus Spring; go left to the Spring | |||||
| 4.66 | l | 250 | scratchgrass | Muhlenbergia asperifolia | 10 / 1 | |
| 4.66 | l | 251 | California loosestrife | Lythrum californicum | 1 / 1 | |
| 4.66 | Cactus Spring; return to trail | |||||
| 4.69 | Jct. trail; go left | |||||
| 4.77 | l | Sign: "Trail" | ||||
| 4.90 | r | Trail parallels creek for a short distance; next species is in Creek to right | ||||
| 4.93 | r | 252 | desert-willow | Chilopsis linearis ssp. arcuata | 20 / 1 | |
| 4.93 | End Plant Guide; the following are approximate mileages to points farther along the trail | |||||
| 5.32 | Cross creek | |||||
| 8.81 | Saddle between Deep Canyon and Martinez Canyon | |||||
Comments On Specific Species
Gutierrezia sarothrae. See Gutierrezia californica and G. sarothrae.
Opuntia phaeacantha. We are not clear whether the common prickly pear here with large pads is O. phaeacantha or O. vaseyi, or something else. The plants appear different in gestalt from the O. vaseyi at the Santa Rosa Plateau, and online vouchers for this area are all of O. phaeacantha.
Not a single flower out of hundreds observed on this trail has the white filaments of O. phaeacantha. The filaments are mostly pure yellow, but some filaments are green, yellow and green, or reddish-salmon. This wide range of colors is typical of O. vaseyi. Also, an examination of the glochids on 11/12/06 found that they were absent from the areoles on the pad surfaces on the single plant surveyed, similar to some of the O. vaseyi plants at the Santa Rosa Plateau.
Furthermore, the fruit inside color is purplish/red, typical of O. vaseyi, and not the green color of O. phaeacantha. The spines are flattened at the base, again typical of O. vaseyi, and not O. phaeacantha. The pads in general are too narrow to be those of O. engelmannii, and the plants don't have the more-erect habit of O. engelmannii.
We have just gone with the voucher flow and called these plants O. phaeacantha until we get a better understanding of these plants.
Eriogonum davidsonii. We have not observed blooms on the plants at the trailhead, but have a positive determination from blooms and leaves at mile 0.78. The plants at the trailhead look like they are the same species, but only the inflorescence will tell.
Eriodictyon trichocalyx var. lanatum. Nearly all the plants on the trail fit this taxon well, except for the plants on the dolomite at the Dolomite Mine.
Those plants at one location at the Dolomite Mine have a very hairy upper leaf surface, more like that of E. crassifolium. However, all those botanists familiar with E. crassifolium var. crassifolium say that these plants are not that taxon. Possibly these plants are E. crassifolium var. nigrescens; or possibly they are hybrids between E. crassifolium and Eriodictyon trichocalyx var. lanatum. This taxon is close to E. crassifolium var. nigrescens, and the plants here in fact key to that taxon using most keys. However, the upper leaf surface is glabrous to hairy, which matches the Jepson Manual description for E. trichocalyx var. lanatum and not E. crassifolium var. nigrescens.
Monardella nana ssp. arida, Galium andrewsii ssp. andrewsii. These two species are intimately associated on this trail. Except for a small number of occurrences of Monardella nana, if you see one of these species, you'll find the other within a few feet.
Lupinus concinnus. The specimens on this trail look very different from most plants of L. concinnus we have seen. When a specimen looks so strikingly different from the low desert version that one cannot even recognize them as L. concinnus at times, it sure seems like there ought to be some split into at least subspecies. The problem, according to the Jepson Manual treatment, is that the named varieties are "+- indistinct" and they "need study".
Zabriskie had two taxa in his Flora of Deep Canyon that are now combined as L. concinnus:
- L. concinnus ssp. orcuttii, which has flowers "mostly lilac edged with red-purple", leaflets 4-7 mm wide and flowers 6-8 mm long, and dense spreading hairs; and
- L. pallidus = L.c. ssp. pallidus, which has flowers "pale blue to whitish or yellowish", 5-7 mm long, and mostly appressed hairs.
Most of the specimens on the trail have the appressed hairs of ssp. pallidus, but the flower colors are pink to blue to purple, which is a mix of both subspecies. Hence it appears that the Jepson Manual treatment got it right.
Quercus acutidens = "Q. not-engelmannii.
Quercus wislizeni var. frutescens. This specimen has an arborescent form, with three main trunks.
Artemisia dracunculus. These specimens have a number of deeply-lobed leaves, extending well up the stem. We have seen this in specimens at Volcan Mountain as well.
We thank Jordan Zylstra for the correct determinations of Sarcostemma crispum+ and Leptodactylon pungens plants on this trail. We thank Bruce Watts for discovering the Amaranthus palmeri on this trail. We thank Ted Caragozian, Kate Harper and Jim Roberts for their help with the 14 February 2014 survey.