Flora of Palo Verde Canyon and Upper Wash and Nearby Areas
Palo Verde Canyon, looking north, near the upper part of our 4/9/08 survey.
Palo Verde, Cercidium floridum ssp. floridum, 4/9/08Click on pictures for larger versions.
Introduction
Interesting Species
Checklist
Introduction This checklist is a start at a flora of Palo Verde Canyon, resulting from vouchers and from three field surveys (map):
- A total of 32 taxa were observed in or near Palo Verde Wash in a survey of about one mile in the wash and the area to the west of the wash on 27 December 2007, done by Tom Chester, James Dillane and Wayne Armstrong.
- A total of 80 taxa were observed in Palo Verde Wash and Canyon in a survey on 9 April 2008 done by Tom Chester and Wayne Armstrong, and in part by Kate Shapiro.
- A total of 106 taxa were observed in Palo Verde Wash and Canyon in a survey on 18 February 2011, done in entirety by Tom Chester, James Dillane, and Vince Balch, in part by Dave Stith and William Schlegel, with Aaron Schusteff and Bob Case helping for the survey near S22.
- Additional taxa were added from a survey of upper Palo Verde Canyon on 23 December 2011 by Tom Chester and Kate Harper, with RT and Shaun Hawke helping with a portion of that survey. (The checklist below has been updated with the results of that survey, but the rest of this page hasn't yet been updated to include those results.)
A total of 113 taxa were found in the union of all three surveys. One additional species was added on a brief stop on 2 April 2010 by Tom Chester and James Dillane.
Vouchers were searched on 16 February 2011, restricted to the area north of Highway S22 in the vicinity of Palo Verde Wash. Vouchers not clearly collected along or north of S22 were rejected. This resulted in 63 vouchers of 48 taxa.
The vouchers were from just five collectors:
# Vouchers % Vouchers Collector 30 48% Bill Sullivan 18 29% Joe Barth 7 11% Michael Curto 7 11% R. Mitchel Beauchamp, R. C. Pierce 1 2% Guy L. Fleming 63 100% All Collectors Only two of those vouchered taxa were not found in our field surveys. Both are from areas not covered by our surveys. Cryptantha racemosa is vouchered from Palo Verde Spring beyond our survey end in the canyon. Asclepias subulata is vouchered from a bit to the west of our surveyed area near S22.
Interesting Species The species found here that are found in few other areas are:
- Plagiobothrys jonesii. This is the only survey area in which this taxon has been found. The only voucher of it from the Borrego Desert is from the nearby Smoke Tree Wash. Only a single plant was found on a single survey.
- Echinocactus polycephalus var. polycephalus. This species is found only in this area of the Borrego Desert, in this canyon and wash and west to the Villager Peak Trail, which is our only other survey area that has recorded it. The only other location of it in southern California south of the Mojave Desert is in the Coyote Mountains just north of Ocotillo. Only seven specimens were found in our survey, but it is more abundant to the immediate west of Palo Verde Wash.
- Cryptantha barbigera var. fergusoniae. In the Borrego Desert, this species is found only from Coyote Mountain on the immediate west of here to the eastern end of the Santa Rosa Mountains. It is abundant in this area, and is accompanied here by var. barbigera, which is less abundant in this area. See also Plants of Southern California: Cryptantha barbigera vars. barbigera, fergusoniae and C. intermedia.
Checklist for Palo Verde Canyon This Checklist also includes species found in the neighboring canyons to the west and east of Palo Verde Canyon. Each canyon has its own separate column in the checklist; species from Palo Verde Canyon are identified by the bolded entries in the column with the header PV.
The Checklist is sorted first by category - dicots, monocots, and ferns - and then by family and scientific name. The Family (given as a the first five letters of the name for brevity) and Scientific Name are from the 1993 first edition Jepson Manual. An asterisk before the Common Name indicates a non-native taxon.
The five rightmost columns give the "estimated minimum number of plants" found on the field surveys for each area, up to a maximum of 99 plants. If a voucher exists for a species in a given area, but we have not observed it, the column contains a V.
The areas and their column headers are:
- VP, the Villager Peak Trail.
- RS, Rattlesnake Canyon.
- PV, Palo Verde Canyon.
- ST, Smoke Tree Canyon.
- CW, Coachwhip Canyon.
Click on the links above for more information about each area.
Version for printing, without other text on this page: html (6 pages) or pdf Clickbook booklet (2 double-sided page). (See printing instructions for an explanation of these options)
# Family Scientific Name (*)Common Name # of Plants VP RS PV ST CW 1 Pteri Cheilanthes parryi woolly lipfern 12 99 28 2 Pteri Notholaena californica California cloak fern 4 3 Ephed Ephedra aspera Mormon tea 99 7 4 Amara Tidestromia oblongifolia Arizona honeysweet 1 5 Apiac Tauschia arguta southern tauschia 2 6 Ascle Asclepias albicans white-stemmed milkweed 1 2 7 Ascle Asclepias subulata rush milkweed 8 V 10 8 Ascle Sarcostemma hirtellum rambling milkweed 99 20 5 40 9 Aster Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus var. sphaerocephalus goldenhead 2 10 Aster Adenophyllum porophylloides San Felipe dogweed 1 4 3 3 11 Aster Ambrosia dumosa burroweed 99 99 99 30 99 12 Aster Bebbia juncea var. aspera sweetbush 30 63 80 50 99 13 Aster Brickellia desertorum desert brickellia 2 14 Aster Calycoseris wrightii white tackstem 50 2 99 2 15 Aster Chaenactis carphoclinia var. carphoclinia pebble pincushion 99 45 99 45 16 Aster Chaenactis stevioides desert pincushion 10 40 50 17 Aster Encelia farinosa brittlebush 99 99 99 50 99 18 Aster Encelia frutescens button encelia 20 19 Aster Filago californica California filago 50 50 8 20 Aster Geraea canescens hairy desert-sunflower 1 5 50 21 Aster Gutierrezia californica California matchweed 1 1 22 Aster Hymenoclea salsola var. salsola cheesebush 99 99 99 99 99 23 Aster Isocoma acradenia var. acradenia alkali goldenbush 1 24 Aster Malacothrix glabrata desert dandelion 10 10 10 25 Aster Monoptilon bellioides desert star 20 30 10 26 Aster Palafoxia arida var. arida desert needle 2 10 20 99 27 Aster Pectis papposa var. papposa chinch-weed V 28 Aster Perityle emoryi Emory's rock-daisy 99 10 50 40 99 29 Aster Peucephyllum schottii pygmy-cedar 10 60 99 4 30 Aster Pleurocoronis pluriseta arrow-leaf 99 50 10 20 31 Aster Prenanthella exigua bright-white 20 32 Aster Psathyrotes ramosissima turtleback 1 33 Aster Rafinesquia neomexicana desert chicory 10 3 10 10 30 34 Aster Senecio mohavensis Mojave ragwort 50 20 99 10 35 Aster Stephanomeria pauciflora var. pauciflora wire-lettuce 30 99 65 40 40 36 Aster Trichoptilium incisum yellow-head 13 20 10 37 Aster Trixis californica var. californica California trixis 10 25 1 2 38 Aster Viguiera parishii Parish's viguiera 4 39 Aster Xylorhiza orcuttii Orcutt's woody-aster 99 40 Borag Cryptantha angustifolia narrow-leaved cryptantha 99 1 99 10 99 41 Borag Cryptantha barbigera bearded cryptantha 60 50 30 5 30 42 Borag Cryptantha barbigera var. fergusoniae Santa Rosa Mountain bearded cryptantha 2 99 10 43 Borag Cryptantha decipiens gravel cryptantha V 44 Borag Cryptantha maritima Guadalupe cryptantha 99 65 99 30 99 45 Borag Cryptantha micrantha purple-root cryptantha 5 46 Borag Cryptantha nevadensis Nevada cryptantha 3 47 Borag Cryptantha pterocarya wing-nut cryptantha 3 48 Borag Cryptantha pterocarya var. cycloptera wing-nut cryptantha V 49 Borag Cryptantha racemosa bushy cryptantha V 50 Borag Cryptantha utahensis scented cryptantha V 51 Borag Pectocarya heterocarpa chuckwalla pectocarya 5 5 5 52 Borag Pectocarya platycarpa broad-fruited combseed 2 1 5 50 53 Borag Pectocarya recurvata curvenut combseed 50 20 54 Borag Plagiobothrys jonesii Jones' popcorn flower 1 V 55 Borag Tiquilia palmeri Palmer's coldenia 10 10 56 Brass Brassica tournefortii *Asian mustard 99 60 99 99 99 57 Brass Descurainia pinnata ssp. glabra smooth western tansy-mustard 10 58 Brass Dithyrea californica spectacle-pod 5 20 99 59 Brass Guillenia lasiophylla California mustard 10 2 60 Brass Lepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpum hairy-podded pepper-grass 52 15 99 30 99 61 Brass Sisymbrium irio *London rocket 99 20 20 62 Brass Sisymbrium orientale *Oriental mustard 99 63 Brass Streptanthella longirostris longbeak streptanthella 2 64 Burse Bursera microphylla elephant tree 11? 65 Cacta Echinocactus polycephalus var. polycephalus cottontop cactus 1 1 7 66 Cacta Echinocereus engelmannii Engelmann's hedgehog cactus 2 1 67 Cacta Ferocactus cylindraceus California barrel cactus 99 99 99 2 10 68 Cacta Mammillaria tetrancistra fish-hook cactus 2 5 5 69 Cacta Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris beavertail cactus 60 15 59 1 55 70 Cacta Opuntia bigelovii teddy-bear cholla 99 99 99 2 17 71 Cacta Opuntia echinocarpa silver cholla 99 20 3 20 72 Cacta Opuntia ganderi Gander's cholla 99 40 40 60 73 Cacta Opuntia ramosissima pencil cholla 30 52 2 10 74 Campa Nemacladus glanduliferus var. glanduliferus glandular nemacladus 20 30 15 75 Caryo Achyronychia cooperi frost mat 10 35 V 1 76 Cheno Atriplex canescens ssp. canescens four-wing saltbush 12 77 Cheno Atriplex hymenelytra desert holly 30 5 99 78 Cheno Atriplex polycarpa cattle saltbush 10 79 Cheno Chenopodium murale *nettle-leaved goosefoot 5 V 80 Crass Crassula connata pygmy-weed 99 81 Cross Crossosoma bigelovii rock crossosoma 12 5 V 82 Eupho Chamaesyce micromera Sonoran spurge V 83 Eupho Chamaesyce polycarpa small-seeded spurge 50 60 99 40 60 84 Eupho Chamaesyce setiloba starfish (Yuma) spurge 1 2 V 85 Eupho Croton californicus California croton V 86 Eupho Ditaxis lanceolata narrowleaf ditaxis 99 3 8 10 87 Eupho Euphorbia eriantha beetle spurge 1 15 2 20 88 Eupho Stillingia spinulosa annual stillingia 1 5 89 Fabac Acacia greggii catclaw 5 70 90 50 40 90 Fabac Astragalus crotalariae Salton milk-vetch 1 91 Fabac Cercidium floridum ssp. floridum blue palo verde 5 72 99 1 92 Fabac Dalea mollissima downy dalea 3 10 1 93 Fabac Lotus rigidus desert lotus 2 5 94 Fabac Lotus salsuginosus var. brevivexillus short-bannered coastal lotus 2 95 Fabac Lotus strigosus strigose lotus 3 2 99 99 96 Fabac Lupinus arizonicus Arizona lupine 30 15 50 99 99 97 Fabac Lupinus concinnus bajada lupine 1 98 Fabac Marina parryi Parry's marina 9 5 99 Fabac Olneya tesota ironwood 1 1 100 Fabac Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana honey mesquite 1 101 Fabac Psorothamnus emoryi Emory's indigo-bush 2 6 102 Fabac Psorothamnus schottii indigo bush 50 50 10 40 70 103 Fabac Psorothamnus spinosus smoke tree 10 11 20 99 99 104 Fabac Senna covesii Coves's cassia 3 105 Fouqu Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens ocotillo 99 99 99 99 99 106 Geran Erodium cicutarium *redstem filaree 40 107 Geran Erodium texanum Texas filaree 5 75 108 Hydro Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora whispering bells 5 10 10 109 Hydro Phacelia crenulata var. ambigua heliotrope phacelia 99 50 50 99 99 110 Hydro Phacelia crenulata var. minutiflora little-flowered heliotrope phacelia 1 111 Hydro Phacelia pedicellata pedicellate phacelia 2 112 Krame Krameria erecta Pima rhatany 99 2 1 113 Krame Krameria grayi white rhatany 75 10 20 1 60 114 Lamia Hyptis emoryi desert-lavender 30 99 99 50 40 115 Lamia Salvia columbariae chia 5 65 116 Lamia Salvia vaseyi Vasey's sage 30 13 117 Loasa Mentzelia albicaulis white-stemmed blazing star 1 1 118 Loasa Mentzelia involucrata bracted blazing star 25 5 2 119 Loasa Petalonyx thurberi ssp. thurberi Thurber's sandpaper-plant 30 2 30 120 Malva Eremalche rotundifolia desert five-spot 5 2 121 Malva Hibiscus denudatus rock hibiscus 99 60 20 5 1 122 Malva Horsfordia newberryi Newberry's velvet mallow 50 7 10 123 Malva Sphaeralcea ambigua var. ambigua apricot mallow 4 2 124 Nycta Abronia villosa var. villosa hairy sand-verbena 20 30 99 125 Nycta Allionia incarnata trailing four o'clock 10 20 10 1 126 Nycta Boerhavia intermedia fivewing spiderling 30 30 127 Nycta Mirabilis bigelovii var. bigelovii Bigelow's desert four-o'clock V V 128 Nycta Mirabilis bigelovii var. retrorsa Bigelow's desert four-o'clock 30 99 30 20 2 129 Onagr Camissonia boothii ssp. condensata Booth's evening primrose 50 2 25 10 10 130 Onagr Camissonia californica California suncup 99 99 99 99 99 131 Onagr Camissonia cardiophylla ssp. cardiophylla heartleaf sun-cup 15 16 1 132 Onagr Camissonia claviformis ssp. peirsonii brown-eyed primrose 99 99 99 99 133 Onagr Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides dune primrose 20 1 134 Oroba Orobanche cooperi Cooper's broom-rape 2 135 Papav Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. minutiflora small-flowered poppy 50 20 99 99 99 136 Papav Eschscholzia parishii Parish's poppy 20 1 50 99 20 137 Plant Plantago ovata desert plantain 99 99 1 99 138 Polem Eriastrum eremicum ssp. eremicum desert woolly-star 45 99 139 Polem Gilia latifolia broad-leaf gilia 13 10 4 70 140 Polem Gilia stellata star gilia 10 20 10 3 141 Polem Langloisia setosissima ssp. setosissima bristly langloisia 5 4 142 Polem Linanthus jonesii Jones' linanthus 7 1 143 Polem Loeseliastrum matthewsii desert calico 20 144 Polem Loeseliastrum schottii Schott's calico 15 145 Polyg Chorizanthe brevicornu var. brevicornu brittle spineflower 99 20 99 20 30 146 Polyg Chorizanthe rigida devil's spineflower 10 35 1 147 Polyg Eriogonum deflexum var. deflexum flat-topped buckwheat 20 148 Polyg Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium California buckwheat 8 1 149 Polyg Eriogonum inflatum desert trumpet 30 80 40 30 10 150 Polyg Eriogonum thomasii Thomas' buckwheat 20 99 99 20 40 151 Polyg Eriogonum wrightii var. nodosum Wright's buckwheat 8 3 152 Polyg Pterostegia drymarioides threadstem 20 20 3 1 153 Portu Calandrinia ambigua desert red maids 50 154 Resed Oligomeris linifolia lineleaf whitepuff V 2 155 Rubia Galium stellatum var. eremicum star-flowered bedstraw 5 1 V 156 Scrop Mohavea confertiflora ghost flower 2 1 50 V 157 Simmo Simmondsia chinensis jojoba 5 1 158 Solan Datura discolor desert thornapple 1 159 Solan Lycium cooperi Cooper's box-thorn V 160 Solan Nicotiana obtusifolia desert tobacco 10 10 5 161 Solan Physalis crassifolia thick-leaved ground cherry 1 3 2 1 162 Sterc Ayenia compacta ayenia 1 163 Visca Phoradendron californicum desert mistletoe 17 50 30 10 23 164 Zygop Fagonia laevis California fagonia 65 165 Zygop Fagonia pachyacantha sticky fagonia 30 3 166 Zygop Kallstroemia californica California caltrop V 167 Zygop Larrea tridentata creosote bush 99 99 99 50 99 168 Lilia Agave deserti desert agave 99 99 99 5 169 Lilia Hesperocallis undulata desert lily 10 4 10 170 Orchi Epipactis gigantea stream orchid V 171 Poace Aristida adscensionis six-weeks three-awn 99 99 3 20 172 Poace Aristida californica var. californica California three-awn V 173 Poace Aristida purpurea purple three-awn 30 20 1 174 Poace Aristida purpurea var. parishii Parish three-awn V 175 Poace Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoides needle grama 5 176 Poace Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens *red brome 5 99 177 Poace Pleuraphis rigida big galleta 45 75 10 20 99 178 Poace Schismus barbatus *Mediterranean schismus 99 99 99 99 99 179 Poace Vulpia bromoides *brome fescue 10 10 10 We thank Aaron Schusteff and Bob Case for help with the 2/18/11 survey; Kate Shapiro for help with the 4/9/08 survey; and RT and Shaun Hawke for help with the 12/23/11 survey.
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Copyright © 2007-2012 by Tom Chester, James Dillane, Vince Balch, Wayne Armstrong, Kate Harper, Dave Stith and William Schlegel
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to us at this source:
http://tchester.org/sd/plants/floras/palo_verde_canyon.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Last update: 22 December 2011