Plant Guide to Cedar Spring Trail: Trailhead to PCT, San Jacinto Mountains - Garner Valley Area This guide is out of date. Subsequent work on the flora of this trail went into a traditional flora in family order, not on this plant trail guide.
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 The Cedar Spring Trail is a well-graded and switchbacked trail that passes through some very interesting habitats, as well as through a number of gates that divide Forest land from private property.
Although the first portion is a road that is fenced on both sides through the private property of the Girl Scout Camp, and a lot of the area has been cleared for fire protection, it is still interesting, and has many of the usual species for this area.
This brief road section ends after one quarter mile after the road crosses the East Canyon branch of Morris Creek. The trail then follows the Creek for the next 0.7 miles in almost constant shade from interior live oak, Quercus chrysolepis. There are thickets of wild rose, Rosa californica, in places, and several patches of velvet ash, Fraxinus velutina, with its very velvety leaves.
The Forest section of the lower trail is grazed, so the plants are seriously munched in areas, and there are fresh cow pads in abundance at times. That portion is followed by a beautiful meadow in the Girl Scout Camp property that has a lot of interesting natives. But there is a quite sharp division in it whose cause is not obvious. The upper meadow is almost entirely a non-native weed patch of mostly Oriental mustard, Sisymbrium orientale.
The habitat changes completely when the trail leaves the Creek and begins zig-zagging up the hot southwest-facing slope of the Desert Divide. This portion has the largest concentration of flannelbush, Fremontodendron californicum, that we have seen at San Jacinto Mountains, accompanied by a large number of hollyleaf cherry, Prunus ilicifolia.
The top of the trail is yet another completely different habitat, where a rare species is found, California penstemon, Penstemon californicus.
This guide is only to the portion of the trail up to the PCT. There is a separate guide to the rest of Cedar Spring Trail, which goes through a completely different habitat on the northeast-facing slopes of the Desert Divide.
Directions to the trailhead. The trailhead is reached via the signed paved Morris Ranch Road, which heads north from SR74 (the Palms to Pines Highway) about four miles west of the intersection of SR74 and SR371, at the fire station just east of mile marker 67.75. It is 3.8 miles along Morris Ranch Road to the Cedar Spring trailhead, just past the Joe Sherman Girl Scout Camp, and 1/4 mile before the end of the road at the Morris Ranch.
There is very little parking at the trailhead itself, only enough for 2-4 cars, depending on whether you can shoehorn your cars into the narrow strips along the road. There is a larger parking area a bit to the south.
Trail length and elevation gain. The portion from the trailhead to the PCT and back is 4.6 miles roundtrip, with 1300 feet of elevation gain and loss. The entire trail from the trailhead to Cedar Spring and back is 6.2 miles roundtrip, with 1700 feet of elevation gain and loss.
The trail starts at 5480 feet elevation, with a fairly uniform and strenuous slope of ~570 feet per mile to its high point at 6780 feet on the Desert Divide 2.3 miles from the start. The trail then descends 0.8 miles to 6400 feet to Cedar Spring (~460 feet per mile), which is the end of the trail.
This guide is the result of just two trips in autumn, on 28 October 2008 and 1 November 2008, and hence is especially incomplete for annuals and some perennials. The definitive determination of many species needs to be checked in spring or summer.
Highlights of This Trail
The botanical highlights of this trail are:
- TBS
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 131 trails in our database when this histogram was made; 4 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 "4" 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 2 2% 2 4 4% 3 2 2% 4 4 4% 5 6 6% 1-5 18 17% 6-10 21 20% 11-15 16 16% 16-20 12 12% 21-25 8 8% 26-30 6 6% 31-35 7 7% 36-40 5 5% 41-45 1 1% 46-50 3 3% 51-55 2 2% 56-60 2 2% 60-65 0 0% 66-70 2 2% Total Taxa 103 100% We found 17 additional species not in the above table, since they have not been identified yet. The unidentified ones are marked with ? or sp in the id? column in the guide, and have no entry 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" 10/28/2008 1 110 2 15 26 4 11/1/2008 2 120 8 13 27 3 We thank Jordan Zylstra for identifying the Linum lewisii from our pictures of the dead plants on 10/28/08.
Botanical Trip Reports
The Plant 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)
Mile S # id? Common Name Latin Name #here #all 0.00 Begin guide just inside gate at trailhead, elevation 5480 feet (1670 m) 0.00 r 1 California-aster Lessingia filaginifolia var. filaginifolia 50 / 9 66 0.00 b 2 matchweed Gutierrezia sarothrae 20 / 5 20 0.00 b 3 bristly bird's beak Cordylanthus rigidus ssp. setigerus 99 / 9 39 0.00 r 4 basketbush Rhus trilobata 20 / 3 30 0.00 l 5 *downy brome Bromus tectorum 99 / 9 35 0.00 r 6 interior live oak Quercus wislizeni var. frutescens 40 / 9 18 0.00 l 7 Davidson's buckwheat Eriogonum davidsonii 50 / 9 23 0.00 l 8 birch-leaf mountain-mahogany Cercocarpus betuloides var. betuloides 99 / 9 29 0.00 r 9 Parry's nolina Nolina parryi 20 / 9 5 0.00 l 10 Torrey's scrub oak Quercus acutidens 5 / 2 31 0.00 r 11 ~ California elegant rock-cress Arabis sparsiflora var. californica 20 / 9 3 0.00 b 12 ~ Parish's needlegrass Achnatherum parishii 50 / 9 13 0.00 l 13 Laguna manzanita Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. adamsii 30 / 4 5 0.00 l 14 red shanks Adenostoma sparsifolium 99 / 9 7 0.01 r 15 southern honeysuckle Lonicera subspicata var. denudata 30 / 9 50 0.01 l 16 chaparral yucca Yucca whipplei 50 / 9 39 0.02 r 17 pink-bracted manzanita Arctostaphylos pringlei ssp. drupacea 5 / 5 12 0.02 r 18 cupped-leaf ceanothus Ceanothus greggii var. perplexans 30 / 9 13 0.02 l sp (Young three needle pine: Coulter pine, Pinus coulteri, or Jeffrey pine, Pinus jeffreyi) 0.02 r Sign: "Cedar Spring Trail crosses private land; please stay on trail" 0.03 l 19 canyon live oak Quercus chrysolepis 99 / 9 39 0.03 r 20 mountain sagebrush Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana 20 / 4 11 0.03 r Sign: "Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains Monument 3 miles ahead" 0.03 l 21 chamise Adenostoma fasciculatum 3 / 1 44 0.03 l 22 California buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium 50 / 9 30 0.03 l (Vasey's prickly-pear, Opuntia vaseyi; Wright's buckwheat, Eriogonum wrightii var. membranaceum; phlox-leaved bedstraw, Galium andrewsii ssp. andrewsii; desert globemallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa) 0.04 Trail turns right 0.05 l 23 California thistle Cirsium occidentale var. californicum 20 / 9 19 0.08 l 24 Vasey's prickly-pear Opuntia vaseyi 3 / 3 30 0.08 l 25 San Jacinto Mtns. bedstraw Galium angustifolium ssp. jacinticum 30 / 9 6 0.08 l 26 white-margined oxytheca Oxytheca emarginata 50 / 9 5 0.08 l 27 ~ giant four o'clock Mirabilis multiflora var. pubescens 4 / 4 6 0.08 l 28 *common wheat Triticum aestivum 1 / 1 4 0.09 l 29 desert globemallow Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa 20 / 9 6 0.09 b 30 bur-ragweed Ambrosia acanthicarpa 20 / 3 23 0.11 l Water tank; trail turns right 0.11 b 31 *shortpod mustard Hirschfeldia incana 50 / 9 56 0.12 r 32 ~ western tansy-mustard Descurainia pinnata 20 / 9 0.13 b 33 ~ spear-leaved mountain dandelion Agoseris retrorsa 20 / 9 20 0.14 b 34 sp Mariposa lily Calochortus sp. 10 / 5 0.14 r 35 sp popcorn flower Cryptantha sp. / 0.14 l 36 ashy silk tassel Garrya flavescens 20 / 9 10 0.15 b 37 ~ scarlet bugler Penstemon centranthifolius 20 / 9 14 0.19 r 38 Mohave yucca Yucca schidigera 1 / 1 14 0.22 l 39 San Jacinto buckwheat Eriogonum apiculatum 10 / 2 12 0.22 r 40 ssp hoary aster Machaeranthera asteroides 5 / 2 2 0.22 b 41 flannelbush Fremontodendron californicum ssp. californicum 50 / 9 8 0.23 r (green-leaf manzanita, Arctostaphylos patula) 0.23 r 42 ~ Parish' Jacumba milk-vetch Astragalus douglasii var. parishii 1 / 1 8 0.23 r (loose - not attached to ground here - Russian thistle, Salsola tragus) 0.24 l (white mugwort, Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. albula; wild tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus) 0.24 Cross East Canyon branch of Morris Creek; trail turns left 90° 0.24 r 43 *ripgut brome Bromus diandrus 50 / 9 56 0.25 b 44 ~ wild pepper-grass Lepidium virginicum var. pubescens 30 / 9 9 0.25 l 45 white mugwort Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. albula 30 / 9 10 0.26 c 46 *Bermuda grass Cynodon dactylon 1 / 1 39 0.27 c 47 sp subshrub lupine in trail Lupinus (excubitus?) 1 / 1 0.27 r 48 Wright's buckwheat Eriogonum wrightii var. membranaceum 40 / 9 12 0.28 l 49 ~ western morning-glory Calystegia occidentalis ssp. fulcrata 10 / 9 11 0.28 r 50 sp gilia Gilia sp. 30 / 3 0.28 r 51 hollyleaf redberry Rhamnus ilicifolia 5 / 5 52 0.28 b 52 ? unk dead annual with whorled flowers like Chinese houses Collinsia concolor? 10 / 1 0.28 l Check for narrowleaf monardella, Monardella linoides ssp. linoides, observed on first trip, but not since 0.29 l 53 naked buckwheat Eriogonum nudum var. pauciflorum 20 / 5 13 0.29 l 54 ~ Martin's paintbrush Castilleja applegatei ssp. martinii 10 / 9 24 0.29 l 55 ~ southern mountain phlox Phlox austromontana 10 / 1 4 0.29 r 56 phlox-leaved bedstraw Galium andrewsii ssp. andrewsii 20 / 2 9 0.31 r 57 California coffeeberry Rhamnus californica 30 / 9 8 0.32 r 58 ~ Palmer's ceanothus Ceanothus palmeri 10 / 3 9 0.33 Leave Girl Scout Property; go through gate to Forest Service property that is leased for grazing 0.35 r 59 sp young three needle pine Pinus coulteri or P. ponderosa 3 / 2 9 0.35 r (blue elderberry, Sambucus mexicana) 0.36 Cross creek to left 0.36 l Sign: "Picnic tables 0.7 mi; Cedar Spring 3 mi; West Fork 10 mi; Toll gate 15 mi" 0.36 l 60 Fremont's goosefoot Chenopodium fremontii 20 / 9 17 0.37 r 61 goldenrod Solidago californica 30 / 5 54 0.38 r hairy-leaf version of California coffeeberry, Rhamnus californica 0.38 r (velvet ash, Fraxinus velutina) 0.39 r (California wild rose, Rosa californica; California brickellbush, Brickellia californica) 0.39 l 62 ~ angel's gilia Gilia angelensis 30 / 3 16 0.40 r 63 arroyo willow Salix lasiolepis 10 / 3 47 0.42 b 64 Mexican rush Juncus mexicanus 30 / 2 28 0.42 Cross creek to right 0.42 l 65 California wild rose Rosa californica 40 / 5 16 0.44 l (red willow, Salix laevigata) 0.46 l 66 incense-cedar Calocedrus decurrens 1 / 1 24 0.49 Cross creek to left 0.50 r 67 velvet ash Fraxinus velutina 20 / 3 5 0.50 r ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa / 0.55 l 68 ssp San Diego pea Lathyrus vestitus var. alefeldii 1 / 1 27 0.58 l golden yarrow Eriophyllum confertiflorum var. confertiflorum 30 / 9 69 0.59 l 69 ~ globe gilia Gilia capitata ssp. abrotanifolia 40 / 9 9 0.59 r 70 wild tarragon Artemisia dracunculus 20 / 3 35 0.59 l Jct. use trail; leave continuous shade for patchy shade 0.60 l 71 sp suncup Camissonia sp. 30 / 9 0.60 r 72 goldenstar Bloomeria crocea 20 / 4 17 0.60 l 73 ~ bajada lupine Lupinus concinnus 1 / 1 21 0.63 r 74 bracken Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens 20 / 2 24 0.63 l 75 ? scroph with dense sessile fruit Antirrhinum coulterianum or Linaria? 30 / 9 0.63 l ? (tall dead annual with pinnate leaves) 0.67 Go through gate back on to Girl Scout Property; note big difference in plants due to grazing not occurring here 0.67 b 76 deergrass Muhlenbergia rigens 20 / 2 33 0.67 r 77 long-leaved aster Aster ascendens 10 / 1 1 0.68 r ~ (smooth scouring rush, Equisetum laevigatum; virgin's bower, Clematis ligusticifolia; Pacific rush, Juncus effusus var. pacificus; ~rigid hedge-nettle, Stachys ~ajugoides var. rigida; willowherb, Epilobium ciliatum ssp. ciliatum) 0.68 b 78 Lewis' flax Linum lewisii var. lewisii 5 / 1 2 0.68 r 79 *prickly lettuce Lactuca serriola 3 / 1 48 0.68 l 80 ~ tower mustard Arabis glabra var. glabra 10 / 1 2 0.68 l 81 yarrow Achillea millefolium 5 / 1 23 0.68 r 82 sticky lessingia Lessingia glandulifera var. glandulifera 20 / 1 4 0.68 b 83 ~ *Oriental mustard Sisymbrium orientale 50 / 9 18 0.73 sp Jct. road; take it left (on right, past stream, is a clover, Trifolium sp., and further is Mexican manzanita, Arctostaphylos pungens) 0.74 l 84 California barberry Berberis aquifolium var. dictyota 10 / 2 2 0.77 r 85 virgin's bower Clematis ligusticifolia 10 / 2 10 0.77 r 86 stinging nettle Urtica dioica ssp. holosericea 10 / 1 12 0.82 l 87 blue wildrye Elymus glaucus 5 / 1 11 0.82 b Huge weedpatch of Oriental mustard, Sisymbrium orientale 0.87 r Two picnic tables 0.90 Cross main branch of creek for final time to right, but you won't notice the creek since it becomes a meadow here; elevation 5880 feet (1792 m) 0.92 r Sign: "Be prepared for hazardous conditions..." 0.94 b 88 willow-leaved dock Rumex salicifolius var. denticulatus 2 / 1 11 0.94 l Sign: "Cedar Spring Trail 4E17; PCT 1.5 mi; Cedar Spring 2.1 mi"; trail starts steep uphill portion 0.94 r 89 slender wreathplant Stephanomeria exigua ssp. deanei 5 / 1 20 0.94 b 90 thick-leaved yerba santa Eriodictyon crassifolium var. crassifolium 40 / 9 14 0.95 l (rock goldenbush, Ericameria cuneata var. cuneata) 0.97 r 91 sp rigid hedge-nettle Stachys ajugoides var. rigida 10 / 2 23 0.97 r 92 ~ Hooker's evening-primrose Oenothera elata ssp. hirsutissima 5 / 1 12 0.97 r 93 Pacific rush Juncus effusus var. pacificus 1 / 1 7 0.98 r 94 western false-indigo Amorpha fruticosa 1 / 1 3 1.00 r 95 clustered field sedge Carex praegracilis 3 / 2 10 1.00 Rock "bridge" over side drainage; good shady rest stop 1.00 ~ (~western columbine, ~Aquilegia formosa) 1.00 b 96 ssp sticky cinquefoil Potentilla glandulosa 10 / 1 7 1.01 r 97 California brickellbush Brickellia californica 10 / 5 32 1.01 Switchback left; elevation 6000 feet (1829 m) 1.01 r (mountain California-fuchsia, Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium) 1.01 b 98 sp bluegrass or melica? like Poa or Melica sp. 3 / 1 1.01 r 99 branching phacelia Phacelia ramosissima var. latifolia 1 / 1 34 1.01 l 100 ~ wild grape Vitis girdiana 1 / 1 9 1.03 r Check for coffee fern, Pellaea andromedifolia 1.05 r 101 sp California? dodder Cuscuta (californica?) 1 / 1 1.06 r 102 hollyleaf cherry Prunus ilicifolia ssp. ilicifolia 40 / 9 18 1.06 r 103 bird's-foot fern Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata 20 / 9 37 1.06 r 104 sp wild Canterbury bells? Phacelia (minor?) 30 / 9 1.07 r 105 ? unk annual Asteraceae with pappus of scales Chaenactis?? 1 / 1 1.07 r (desert dudleya, Dudleya saxosa ssp. aloides) 1.09 r 106 desert dudleya Dudleya saxosa ssp. aloides 2 / 1 6 1.10 Switchback right 1.18 Switchback left 1.23 r 107 sp annual monkeyflower Mimulus sp. 3 / 1 1.29 Leave Girl Scout Property through gate into Forest Land 1.30 r 108 ~ beady lipfern Cheilanthes covillei 10 / 5 5 1.30 r Check Arctostaphylos glandulosa here for subspecies; bracts seem to be leaf-like, leaves are not glaucous 1.30 Switchback right 1.37 l 109 Mojave prickly-pear Opuntia erinacea var. erinacea 3 / 3 5 1.40 l 110 whorledleaf penstemon Keckiella ternata var. ternata 5 / 5 11 1.40 l 111 rock goldenbush Ericameria cuneata var. cuneata 10 / 3 8 1.42 l ~ (caterpillar phacelia, Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida) 1.44 Switchback left; elevation 6200 feet (1890 m) l 112 ~ Veatch's blazing star Mentzelia veatchiana 40 / 5 4 1.46 r 113 ~ caterpillar phacelia Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida 20 / 3 18 1.47 r 114 chia Salvia columbariae 2 / 1 34 1.54 Switchback right 1.62 Switchback left 1.64 r 115 ~ imbricate phacelia Phacelia imbricata 10 / 4 1.70 Switchback right 1.83 Switchback left; elevation ~6450 feet (1966 m) 1.86 r 116 ? unk scroph-type infl with woolly stem and leaves ? 5 / 1 1.86 r 117 ? unk per with filago-type dead or aborted flowers on a white mugwort-like plant ? 5 / 2 1.86 r Check if these woolly very young plants are the same as one of the previous two species or Hulsea 1.97 Switchback right 2.10 Switchback left; elevation ~6620 feet (2018 m) 2.14 r (white everlasting, Gnaphalium canescens ssp. microcephalum) 2.16 Switchback right 2.24 Switchback left 2.24 r 118 ? annual Chaenactis? Chaenactis? 20 / 1 2.28 l 119 California penstemon Penstemon californicus 5 / 1 1 2.28 l ~ (Parish's tauschia, Tauschia parishii) 2.28 l 120 ? beautiful hulsea? Hulsea vestita ssp. callicarpha? 3 / 1 2.29 Jct. PCT; elevation ~6780 feet (2067 m). See Guide to rest of Cedar Spring Trail if you are continuing on this trail.
Comments On Specific Species .
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Copyright © 2008 by Tom Chester and Dave Stith.
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Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Updated 9 November 2008.