Anza-Borrego: Plant Trail Guide To Pacific Crest Trail North of SR78 / Scissors Crossing

Introduction

Introduction and Explanation of Plant Trail Guides

See also Flora of PCT North of Scissors Crossing in traditional plant family order.

Fieldwork Dates

• 13 December 2010; initial survey of trail for first 0.8 miles, by Tom Chester, with Mike Crouse for half the survey

• 6 January 2012; Tom Chester, Mike Crouse, and Kate Harper, with Steve Fuller for part of the survey.

• 10 January 2012: Tom Chester, Mike Crouse, and Kate Harper.

• 18 March 2013: Tom Chester, Adrienne Ballwey, Mike Crouse, and Kate Harper.

• 18 April 2014: RT and Shaun Hawke, survey of 17.6 miles of trail.

• 25 March 2015: Tom Chester, Adrienne Ballwey, Kate Harper, with Carla Hoegen, and Fred Melgert for most of the survey.

The number of species in the guide, cumulative from all previous trips, after each of the above surveys is given in Table 1.

Table 1. Number of Species in Plant Trail Guide after Each Survey

Date	Surveyed to PCT Mile	# Species in Guide
12/13/10	0.8	80
1/06/12	1.9	111
1/10/12	2.5	129
3/18/13	1.9	162
4/18/13	19.0	212
3/25/15	4.2	228

The 1/10/12 survey included a survey of 0.4 miles from the large parking area on S2 to and from the PCT.

The 3/18/13 survey included a survey of 0.3 miles up the drainage at mile 1.9.

The Plant Guide

See Information about the links from the Scientific Name and Common Name.

For a plant list of the species found here in traditional family order, see Flora of PCT north of SR78 / Scissors Crossing.

The column labeled #Pls gives the estimated minimum abundance of each species in the area along and near the trail, up to a maximum of 99 plants. An entry of RT or RT' is a species seen only in the RT and Shaun Hawke survey, for which no abundance estimate was made. Species marked with RT' are found after the species marked with RT. An entry of V is a species vouchered from this area, but not observed by us.

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mile	#	id	Common Name	Scientific Name	#Pls
			The following 6 species are found in the area between Scissors Crossing and the trailhead
-0.01	1		*Sahara mustard	Brassica tournefortii	1
-0.01	2		goldfields	Lasthenia gracilis	11
-0.01	3		*cheeseweed	Malva parviflora	1
-0.01	4		desert unicorn-plant	Proboscidea althaeifolia	2
-0.01	5		thistle sage	Salvia carduacea	50
-0.01	6		slender tropidocarpum	Tropidocarpum gracile	31
			PCT Trail begins, elevation 2250 feet
0.00	7		*Russian thistle	Salsola tragus	10
0.00	8		catclaw	Senegalia greggii	99
0.00	9		seaside heliotrope	Heliotropium curassavicum var. oculatum	RT
0.00	10		*red brome	Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens	99
0.00	11		cheesebush	Ambrosia salsola var. salsola	99
0.00	12		bur-ragweed	Ambrosia acanthicarpa	25
0.00	13		big galleta	Hilaria rigida	99
0.00	14		*Mediterranean schismus	Schismus barbatus	99
0.00	15		*redstem filaree	Erodium cicutarium	99
0.00	16		fringed amaranth	Amaranthus fimbriatus	99
0.00	17		desert almond	Prunus fasciculata var. fasciculata	10
0.00	18		creosote bush	Larrea tridentata	99
0.00	19		honey mesquite	Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana	8
0.00	20		desert prickly-pear	Opuntia phaeacantha	20
0.00	21		*downy brome	Bromus tectorum	5
0.00	22		slender wreathplant	Stephanomeria exigua ssp. exigua	99
0.00	23		bajada lupine	Lupinus concinnus	30
0.00	24		coastal gilia	Gilia diegensis	99
0.00	25		*shepherd's purse	Capsella bursa-pastoris	1
0.00	26		*shortpod mustard	Hirschfeldia incana	1
0.00	27		*foxtail barley	Hordeum murinum	1
0.00	28	~	*short-fruited filaree	Erodium brachycarpum	2
0.01	29		Mohave yucca	Yucca schidigera	70
0.01	30		Mormon tea	Ephedra aspera	99
0.01	31		Gander's cholla	Cylindropuntia ganderi	99
0.01	32		goldenhead	Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus var. sphaerocephalus	10
0.01	33	ssp	California spear-leaved brickellia	Brickellia atractyloides var. odontolepis	2
0.02	34		California barrel cactus	Ferocactus cylindraceus	99
0.02	35		white rhatany	Krameria bicolor	50
0.02	36		Engelmann's hedgehog cactus	Echinocereus engelmannii	99
0.02	37		narrowleaf goldenbush	Ericameria linearifolia	20
0.02	38		Schott's calico	Loeseliastrum schottii	9
0.02	39		slender buckwheat	Eriogonum gracile var. incultum	50
0.02	40		miniature woolly-star	Eriastrum diffusum	70
0.02	41		everlasting nest-straw	Stylocline gnaphaloides	99
0.02	42		slender combseed	Pectocarya linearis ssp. ferocula	99
0.02	43		Arizona popcorn flower	Plagiobothrys arizonicus	99
0.03	44		California buckwheat	Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium	99
0.03	45		yucca buckwheat	Eriogonum plumatella	40
0.03	46		red-gland spurge	Chamaesyce melanadenia	70
0.03	47		Bigelow's desert four-o'clock	Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa	99
0.03	48		lace-fringed spineflower	Chorizanthe fimbriata var. laciniata	99
0.03	49		desert dudleya	Dudleya saxosa ssp. aloides	99
0.04	50		purple three-awn	Aristida purpurea	99
0.04	51		San Felipe dogweed	Adenophyllum porophylloides	99
0.04	52		odora	Porophyllum gracile	40
0.04	53		pygmy lotus	Acmispon haydonii	99
0.04	54		desert woolly-star	Eriastrum eremicum ssp. eremicum	99
0.04	55		wire-lettuce	Stephanomeria pauciflora	99
0.04	56		desert agave	Agave deserti	99
0.04	57		chia	Salvia columbariae	99
0.04	58		strigose lotus	Acmispon strigosus	99
0.04	59		popcorn flower	Cryptantha intermedia var. intermedia	99
0.05	60		Hall's caulanthus	Caulanthus hallii	99
0.05	61		turpentine broom	Thamnosma montana	30
0.05	62		common phacelia	Phacelia distans	99
0.05	63		Cooper's boxthorn	Lycium cooperi	10
0.05	64		California juniper	Juniperus californica	99
0.06	65		brittle spineflower	Chorizanthe brevicornu var. brevicornu	99
0.08	66		linear-leaved stillingia	Stillingia linearifolia	70
0.08	67		Fremont pincushion	Chaenactis fremontii	99
0.08	68		desert mistletoe	Phoradendron californicum	99
0.09	69		desert needlegrass	Stipa speciosa	25
0.10	70		desert trumpet	Eriogonum inflatum	99
0.11	71		short-leaved baccharis	Baccharis brachyphylla	60
0.12	72		six-weeks three-awn	Aristida adscensionis	99
0.12	73		fivewing spiderling	Boerhavia triquetra var. intermedia	99
0.13	74		large-flowered trailing four o'clock	Allionia incarnata var. villosa	50
0.13	75		Acton encelia	Encelia actoni	10
0.14	76		bearded cryptantha	Cryptantha barbigera var. barbigera	20
0.15	77		small-flowered poppy	Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. minutiflora	99
0.15	78		chinch-weed	Pectis papposa var. papposa	99
0.16	79		sweetbush	Bebbia juncea var. aspera	90
0.16	80		California suncup	Eulobus californicus	99
0.16	81		Cooper's jewel-flower	Caulanthus cooperi	15
0.16	82		cane cholla	Cylindropuntia californica var. parkeri	3
0.17	83		Parish's viguiera	Bahiopsis parishii	99
0.17	84		needle grama	Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoides	4
0.19	85		Wright's buckwheat	Eriogonum wrightii var. nodosum	99
0.19	86		Wallace's woolly daisy	Eriophyllum wallacei var. rubellum	99
0.22	87		California fish-hook cactus	Mammillaria dioica	32
0.25	88		Davidson's buckwheat	Eriogonum davidsonii	99
0.25	89		common fiddleneck	Amsinckia intermedia	75
0.25			Anza Borrego Desert State Park boundary sign
0.27	90		narrowleaf ditaxis	Ditaxis lanceolata	99
0.27	91		hairy-podded pepper-grass	Lepidium lasiocarpum ssp. lasiocarpum	99
0.28	92		fringe-pod	Thysanocarpus curvipes ssp. eradiatus	99
0.28	93		ayenia	Ayenia compacta	70
0.28			trail jogs left at wash
0.29	94		thick-leaved ground cherry	Physalis crassifolia	30
0.29	95		desert apricot	Prunus fremontii	80
0.29	96		Coulter's lupine	Lupinus sparsiflorus	50
0.29	97		wild canterbury bells	Phacelia minor	99
0.29	98		wing-nut cryptantha	Cryptantha pterocarya var. “pseudocycloptera”	1
0.29	99		desert-lavender	Hyptis emoryi	2
0.29	100		Jurupa Hills suncups	Camissoniopsis ignota	5
0.29	101		pebble pincushion	Chaenactis carphoclinia var. carphoclinia	99
0.30	102		desert fish-hook cactus	Mammillaria tetrancistra	7
0.31	103		New Mexico ditaxis	Ditaxis neomexicana	1
0.33	104		Pima rhatany	Krameria erecta	30
0.35	105		California cloak fern	Notholaena californica	75
0.36	106		burroweed	Ambrosia dumosa	99
0.38	107		California matchweed	Gutierrezia californica	99
0.40	108		black brush	Coleogyne ramosissima	75
0.43	109		boundary goldenbush	Ericameria brachylepis	99
0.44	110		Bigelow's spike-moss	Selaginella bigelovii	99
0.44	111		blue dicks	Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum	99
0.47	112		jojoba	Simmondsia chinensis	60
0.47	113		Engelmann prickly-pear	Opuntia engelmannii var. engelmannii	25
0.49	114		whispering bells	Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora	99
0.57	115		brittlebush	Encelia farinosa	99
0.59	116		Patagonia plantain	Plantago patagonica	12
0.62	117		desert tobacco	Nicotiana obtusifolia	40
0.62	118		climbing milkweed	Funastrum cynanchoides var. hartwegii	3
0.65	119		desert dandelion	Malacothrix glabrata	30
0.68	120		desert globemallow	Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa	35
0.71	121		tall melica	Melica frutescens	10
0.73	122		lotebush	Ziziphus parryi var. parryi	99
0.75	123		silver puffs	Uropappus lindleyi	7
0.77	124	~	intermediate larkspur	Delphinium parishii ssp. subglobosum	80
0.82	125		teddy-bear cholla	Cylindropuntia bigelovii	99
0.88	126		desert spike-moss	Selaginella eremophila	99
0.88	127		ocotillo	Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens	99
0.88	128		beavertail cactus	Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris	99
0.89	129		muilla	Muilla maritima	2
0.89	130		California mustard	Caulanthus lasiophyllus	50
0.99	131		desert chicory	Rafinesquia neomexicana	6
1.07	132		*wild oats	Avena fatua	1
1.11	133		Anderson's boxthorn	Lycium andersonii	15
1.12	134		cream cups	Platystemon californicus	99
1.17	135		star-flowered bedstraw	Galium stellatum	60
1.18	136		red maids	Calandrinia ciliata	99
1.22	137		small-seeded spurge	Chamaesyce polycarpa	10
1.30	138		Parish's poppy	Eschscholzia parishii	30
1.36	139		California trixis	Trixis californica var. californica	16
1.45	140		threadstem	Pterostegia drymarioides	25
1.46	141		Emory's rock-daisy	Perityle emoryi	25
1.48	142		bracted blazing star	Mentzelia involucrata	24
1.53	143		limestone phacelia	Phacelia affinis	8
1.54	144		woolly lipfern	Cheilanthes parryi	55
1.55	145		*London rocket	Sisymbrium irio	7
1.58	146		fluff grass	Dasyochloa pulchella	3
1.58	147		spearleaf	Matelea parvifolia	5
1.63	148		star gilia	Gilia stellata	60
1.78	149		perennial rock-cress	Boechera perennans	10
1.78	150		white fiesta flower	Pholistoma membranaceum	99
1.80	151		western bernardia	Bernardia incana	25
1.80	152		coast-range melic	Melica imperfecta	1
1.93	153		white sage	Salvia apiana	30
			Cross major drainage, elevation 2960 feet; The following five species are found just up the drainage (Lasthenia numbered previously near trailhead):
1.93	154		scented cryptantha	Cryptantha utahensis	99
1.93			goldfields	Lasthenia gracilis	11
1.93	155		*carpet-weed	Mollugo cerviana	2
1.93	156		purple mat	Nama demissa var. demissa	25
1.93	157		limestone phacelia	Phacelia cryptantha	20
2.04	158		sand cress	Calyptridium monandrum	99
2.11	159		pale suncup	Camissoniopsis pallida ssp. pallida	99
2.12	160		bird's-foot fern	Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata	7
2.18	161		*sow thistle	Sonchus oleraceus	1
2.19	162		wide-throated yellow monkeyflower	Mimulus brevipes	99
2.22	163		California filago	Logfia filaginoides	99
2.23	164		Bigelow's linanthus	Linanthus bigelovii	11
2.25	165		eucrypta	Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia var. bipinnatifida	10
2.25	166		curvenut combseed	Pectocarya recurvata	2
2.25	167		beady lipfern	Cheilanthes covillei	16
2.74	168		shrubby brickellia	Brickellia frutescens	2
2.88	169		mountain mugwort	Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. incompta	7
2.89	170		western tansy-mustard	Descurainia pinnata	99
2.93	171		desert scrub oak	Quercus cornelius-mulleri	30
2.93	172		golden yarrow	Eriophyllum confertiflorum var. confertiflorum	9
2.95			Cross first of two branches of a major drainage, elevation 3070 feet
2.95	173		Parish's needlegrass	Stipa parishii var. parishii	1
3.04	174		bristly fiddleneck	Amsinckia tessellata var. tessellata	1
3.89	175		California groundsel	Senecio californicus	1
3.90	176		bigberry manzanita	Arctostaphylos glauca	5
4.03	177		wedge-leaved draba	Draba cuneifolia	1
4.03	178		Jones' prickly-nut cryptantha	Cryptantha muricata var. jonesii	2
4.05	179		short-winged deerweed	Acmispon glaber var. brevialatus	6
4.08	180		Mojave lomatium	Lomatium mohavense	1
4.15			Cross head of major drainage, elevation 3070 feet; saddle to Bitter Creek Canyon 100 feet to right; mileages not recorded past this point
			Marble outcrop
	181		little-leaved chaparral beardtongue	Keckiella antirrhinoides var. microphylla	RT
	182		southern California silver-lotus	Acmispon argophyllus var. argophyllus	RT
	183		chamise	Adenostoma fasciculatum	RT
	184		Palmer's milk-vetch	Astragalus palmeri	RT
	185		meally white pincushion	Chaenactis artemisiifolia	RT
	186		woolly Indian paintbrush	Castilleja foliolosa	RT
	187		California-aster	Corethrogyne filaginifolia	RT
	188		sugar bush	Rhus ovata	RT
	189		wild-cucumber	Marah macrocarpa	RT
	190		Parish's purple nightshade	Solanum parishii	RT
	191	sp	Borrego bedstraw	Galium angustifolium ssp. borregoense	RT
	192	sp	red-root cryptantha	Cryptantha micrantha	V
	193		San Diego sunflower	Hulsea californica	RT'
	194		red triangles	Centrostegia thurberi	RT'
	195		white tidy-tips	Layia glandulosa	RT'
	196		yellow pincushion	Chaenactis glabriuscula var. glabriuscula	RT'
	197		prickly poppy	Argemone munita	RT'
	198		sacred datura	Datura wrightii	RT'
	199		chaparral yucca	Hesperoyucca whipplei	RT'
	200		scaly lipfern	Cheilanthes clevelandii	RT'
	201	sp	yellow-stem bush mallow	Malacothamnus densiflorus	RT'
	202		*slender wild oats	Avena barbata	RT'
	203		golden ear drops	Ehrendorferia chrysantha	RT'
	204		cupped-leaf ceanothus	Ceanothus perplexans	RT'
	205		California poppy	Eschscholzia californica
	206		dense mistletoe	Phoradendron bolleanum	RT'
	207		Coulter's snapdragon	Antirrhinum coulterianum	RT'
	208	sp	caterpillar phacelia	Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida	RT'
	209		one-sided bluegrass	Poa secunda ssp. secunda	RT'
	210		hollyleaf cherry	Prunus ilicifolia ssp. ilicifolia	RT'
	211		giant four o'clock	Mirabilis multiflora var. pubescens	RT'
	212	~	white-flowering currant	Ribes indecorum	RT'
	213		showy penstemon	Penstemon spectabilis var. spectabilis	RT'
	214	?	California chicory	Rafinesquia californica	RT'
	215		whorledleaf penstemon	Keckiella ternata var. ternata	RT'
	216		stinging lupine	Lupinus hirsutissimus	RT'
	217		smoothleaf yerba santa	Eriodictyon trichocalyx var. lanatum	RT'
	218		hollyleaf redberry	Rhamnus ilicifolia	RT'
	219	sp	Eastwood manzanita	Arctostaphylos glandulosa	RT'
	220		toyon	Heteromeles arbutifolia	RT'
	221		bush poppy	Dendromecon rigida	RT'
	222		southern honeysuckle	Lonicera subspicata var. denudata	RT'
17.60			High point on trail section, 4420 feet; end guide
			The following 6 species were found in the area between the large parking area off S2 and mile 0.28 and mile 0.47 of the trail
			scarlet spiderling	Boerhavia coccinea	5
			California croton	Croton californicus	1
			coyote melon	Cucurbita palmata	1
			solitary-leaved alkali goldenbush	Isocoma acradenia var. eremophila	50
			thread plant	Nemacladus longiflorus var. breviflorus	20
			scarlet bugler	Penstemon centranthifolius	18
			The following species were vouchered from this area, but not seen so far on or near the trail
			short-bannered coastal lotus	Acmispon maritimus var. brevivexillus	V
			fringed onion	Allium fimbriatum var. fimbriatum	V
			Cedros milk-vetch	Astragalus nuttallianus var. cedrosensis	V
			four-wing saltbush	Atriplex canescens var. canescens	V
			cattle saltbush	Atriplex polycarpa	V
			splendid mariposa lily	Calochortus splendens	V
			San Bernardino suncup	Camissoniopsis confusa	V
			starfish (Yuma) spurge	Chamaesyce setiloba	V
			spotted buckwheat	Eriogonum maculatum	V
			Thurber's buckwheat	Eriogonum thurberi	V
			Pringle's woolly sunflower	Eriophyllum pringlei	V
			hog potato	Hoffmannseggia glauca	V
			California caltrop	Kallstroemia californica	V
			*henbit	Lamium amplexicaule	V
			Lemmon's linanthus	Leptosiphon lemmonii	V
			spreading loeflingia	Loeflingia squarrosa	V
			Arizona herba impia	Logfia arizonica	V
			annual malacothrix	Malacothrix clevelandii	V
			white-stemmed blazing star	Mentzelia albicaulis	V
			annual sandwort	Minuartia pusilla	V
			eastern glandular nemacladus	Nemacladus orientalis	V
			comb-leaved nemacladus	Nemacladus pinnatifidus	V
			Nuttall's nemacladus	Nemacladus ramosissimus	V
			Cleveland's beardtongue	Penstemon clevelandii var. clevelandii	V
			bladderpod	Peritoma arborea	V
			desert nest straw	Stylocline micropoides	V

We thank Steve Fuller for help with the 1/6/12 survey.

Go to:

• Flora of PCT North of Scissors Crossing
• Plants of Southern California: Trail Guides
• The Flora of the PCT A9 Highway 78 to Highway S22 (Barrel Springs)

Copyright © 2012-2015 by Tom Chester, Mike Crouse, Kate Harper, Adrienne Ballwey, RT Hawke, Shaun Hawke, Carla Hoegen, and Fred Melgert.
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/guides/anza_borrego/pct_n_SR78.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Last update: 28 March 2015.