Plant Guide to Lightning Ridge Nature Trail This is a working list, about which we make no guarantees at all until we officially release it. Use at your own risk!
Introduction and Explanation of Plant Trail Guides
Introduction
Highlights of This Trail
Fieldwork Dates and Summary of List Changes With Time
The Plant Guide
Comments On Specific Species
Introduction A nature trail was created at Lightning Ridge because there is a great variety of species on a short trail. The trailhead, at Blue Ridge summit, is also the second-highest area on the Angeles Crest Highway, exceeded only by the area near Dawson Saddle. This may be one of the most species-rich trails in the area, perhaps because the trail is at the divide between the desert and coast side of the San Gabriel Mountains in the High Country and perhaps due to the profusion of annuals seen after a fire. The trail offers wonderful vistas of the desert with its dry lakes, distant peaks, and mountain canyons, some of which can be enjoyed from two very-well-placed benches.
The printed guide to the numbered landmark posts, some of which are missing, is sometimes available near the trailhead. This page summarizes the Trail Guide comments at posts that are still present.
Highlights of This Trail Botanical highlights of this trail include:
- Wind-pruned trees - statuesque Jeffrey pines that have branches only on the side protected from the biting wind here. These trees show the direction and constancy of the cool moist wind being sucked up the canyon by the void left in the atmosphere by the rising hot air on the desert side of the mountains.
- Rock gardens with brightly colored lichens and flowers growing out of the crevices. The moisture brought by the up-canyon winds keeps the lichen wet enough to grow here.
- A forest of black oak, a forest for all seasons: cool and green in the summer, golden in the fall, black silhouettes in the winter and pink new growth in the spring.
- Buckwheat Hill, a rocky slope nearly covered with beautiful matted buckwheats.
- An ongoing lesson in plant succession after a major fire. The area burned in 1998, and it still contains some of the species that dominate after a fire. The burn may account for the excellent wildflower display here.
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 79 trails in our database when this histogram was made; two trails, including this one, are in this immediate area of the San Gabriel Mountains, with another three trails ~five miles west at Vincent Gap. A number of "1" means the taxon has only been found on this trail among the trails in our database; numbers of "5" or smaller may indicate taxa found only in this general area of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Number of Trails
Containing A TaxonNumber Of Taxa
On This Trail% of Taxa
On This Trail1 3 4% 2 3 4% 3 4 6% 4 8 11% 5 8 11% 1-5 26 37% 6-10 17 24% 11-15 12 17% 16-20 6 9% 21-25 5 7% 26-30 0 0% 31-35 2 3% 36-40 0 0% 41-45 1 1% 46-50 1 1% Total Taxa 70 100% We found 3 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 do not have any number given in the #all column.
The taxa unique to this trail are:
Common Name Latin Name California dodder Cuscuta californica var. breviflora white tidy-tips Layia glandulosa clustered blazing star Mentzelia congesta
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" 8/30/2002 1 53 3 8 3 4 6/4/2003 2 74 6 10 2 4 6/12/2003 3 72 3 7 3 2 6/26/2003 4 73 1 6 3 2 In addition to the visits above, Jane has made a number of visits to this trail previously without recording all the taxa.
The Plant Guide Version for printing, without lines and other text on this page (4 pages)
Mile # S id? Common Name Latin Name #here #all 0.00 b 1 *downy brome Bromus tectorum 99 / 9 21 0.00 b 2 mountain sagebrush Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana / 8 0.00 b 3 bitter cherry Prunus emarginata 20 / 2 5 0.00 l 4 branching phacelia Phacelia ramosissima var. latifolia 10 / 9 25 0.00 r 5 leafy daisy Erigeron foliosus var. foliosus 10 / 9 34 0.00 r 6 ssp San Bernardino rubber rabbitbrush Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. bernardinus 5 / 5 14 0.00 r 7 Parry's sand cress Calyptridium parryi var. parryi 5 / 1 3 0.00 8 sulphur buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum var. munzii+ / 9 0.00 9 squirreltail Elymus elymoides ssp. elymoides+ 20 / 3 4 0.00 10 Parish's snowberry Symphoricarpos rotundifolius var. parishii+ 10 / 5 10 0.00 Beginning of loop trail. Take the right (east) branch. 0.00 l Sign: "National Forest Nature Trail: Lightning Ridge" 0.00 l 11 purple nightshade Solanum xanti 99 / 9 12 0.01 l 12 sp goosefoot Chenopodium sp. / 0.01 l 13 Fremont's bush mallow Malacothamnus fremontii 5 / 5 4 0.01 b 14 ~ Fremont's goosefoot Chenopodium fremontii 20 / 3 10 0.01 l 15 coyote tobacco Nicotiana attenuata / 3 0.01 r 16 alpine gooseberry Ribes lasianthum+ 20 / 5 2 0.01 l 17 prickly cryptantha Cryptantha muricata 20 / 2 12 0.01 r 18 *tumble-mustard Sisymbrium altissimum 30 / 4 8 0.01 l 19 splendid gilia Gilia splendens ssp. splendens 99 / 5 6 20 sp groundsmoke Gayophytum sp. 50 / 5 0.02 21 poodle-dog bush Turricula parryi+ 30 / 9 4 0.02 l 22 mountain whitethorn Ceanothus cordulatus+ 30 / 9 14 0.02 l 23 ~ Davidson's buckwheat Eriogonum davidsonii 5 / 5 18 0.02 l 24 Wright's buckwheat Eriogonum wrightii var. subscaposum 20 / 5 13 r First sulphur buckwheat, Eriogonum umbellatum var. munzii, in 2003. 0.02 b 25 Coulter pine Pinus coulteri 20 / 5 9 0.03 l Trail guide box, sometimes with trail guides. Signpost "1". 0.03 l 26 Mojave linanthus Linanthus breviculus+ 50 / 3 5 0.03 l 27 one-sided bluegrass Poa secunda ssp. secunda 99 / 9 21 0.03 l 28 blue dicks Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum 5 / 1 32 0.04 "Buckwheat hill" on left, almost completely covered with prostrate buckwheats. 0.04 l Signpost "2". 0.04 l 29 popcorn flower Cryptantha intermedia / 21 0.04 l 30 California dodder Cuscuta californica var. breviflora+ / 1 0.05 l 31 Martin's paintbrush Castilleja applegatei ssp. martinii 20 / 5 14 0.05 r 32 white fir Abies concolor / 20 r First Parish's snowberry, Symphoricarpos rotundifolius var. parishii, in 2003. l First poodle-dog bush, Turricula parryi, in 2003 l 33 rock melica Melica stricta 20 / 2 3 0.08 r Signpost "3" (chaparral: ecological succession) r sp First mature alpine gooseberry, Ribes lasianthum. 0.08 l 34 California black oak Quercus kelloggii / 11 0.08 l (blue elderberry, Sambucus mexicana) 0.09 l 35 San Gabriel beardtongue Penstemon labrosus / 6 0.09 l 36 spreading larkspur Delphinium patens ssp. montanum 30 / 5 4 0.09 b 37 western wallflower Erysimum capitatum ssp. capitatum 20 / 2 16 0.09 l (clustered blazing star, Mentzelia congesta) 0.10 Cross shallow drainage. 0.10 l 38 golden yarrow Eriophyllum confertiflorum var. confertiflorum 1 / 1 47 l 39 whisker-brush Linanthus ciliatus+ / 5 0.11 b 40 Jeffrey pine Pinus jeffreyi / 21 0.11 l 41 blue wildrye Elymus glaucus ssp. glaucus 99 / 5 16 l 42 sp Eriogonum nudum? r 43 white tidy-tips Layia glandulosa 2 / 1 1 b 44 volcanic gilia Gilia ochroleuca ssp. vivida 99 / 9 4 r 45 canyon live oak Quercus chrysolepis 1 / 1 20 0.12 l 46 California-aster Lessingia filaginifolia var. filaginifolia / 42 r sp (currant, Ribes sp.) b 47 Davidson's phacelia Phacelia davidsonii 50 / 5 7 0.12 b 48 western morning-glory Calystegia occidentalis ssp. fulcrata 20 / 1 7 0.13 b 49 broad-leaved lotus Lotus crassifolius var. crassifolius 5 / 1 5 Trail tread gone here (trail slopes sideways like the hillside) 0.13 r 50 sp imbricate phacelia Phacelia imbricata ssp. patula 20 / 2 14 0.13 Beautiful field of volcanic gilia, Gilia ochroleuca ssp. vivida. 0.14 l 51 clustered blazing star Mentzelia congesta 5 / 1 1 0.14 ssp naked buckwheat Eriogonum nudum var. pauciflorum / 7 0.14 l 52 white catch-fly Silene verecunda ssp. platyota 10 / 2 8 0.14 Signpost "4" (a large dead and decomposing Jeffrey pine, home for insects) 0.15 l 53 Orcutt's brome Bromus orcuttianus 50 / 5 6 0.15 l 54 Wright's collinsia Collinsia torreyi var. wrightii 50 / 1 4 0.15 l 55 goosefoot yellow violet Viola purpurea ssp. quercetorum 10 / 1 2 0.16 Enter black oak (Quercus kelloggii) forest. 0.16 l 56 miner's lettuce Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata 10 / 1 14 0.16 l 57 white false-gilia Allophyllum integrifolium 10 / 1 2 0.17 b First definite id for alpine gooseberry, Ribes lasianthum. 0.17 l 58 southern miner's lettuce Claytonia perfoliata ssp. mexicana 10 / 1 16 0.17 l 59 Yosemite rockcress Arabis repanda var. repanda 10 / 1 3 0.17 l 60 mountain sweet-cicely Osmorhiza chilensis 10 / 2 5 0.17 r Signpost "5" (Large grove of young black oaks) 0.18 "Low bridge" under a fallen smallish tree. 0.18 r 61 spear-leaved mountain dandelion Agoseris retrorsa 1 / 1 11 0.19 l 62 ? unk with 2 basal leaves - Calochortus sp.? 0.16 l 63 little spring beauty Claytonia exigua ssp. exigua / 4 0.19 l Signpost "6" (Rodents and Reptiles). 0.19 Views of dry lake and desert from this spot. 0.19 Switchback left. 0.20 Switchback right at a loop junction. The path continuing straight ahead is not part of this guide. 0.21 l Signpost "7" (Leaves and Needles). 0.21 64 sp wire-lettuce Stephanomeria pauciflora var. pauciflora / 4 0.22 Trail turns 90 degrees left up stairs that then turn another 90 degrees left near the top. 0.25 l Signpost "8" (Weather: thunderstorms). r 65 whispering bells Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora / 9 0.26 l Signpost "9" in front of a wind- and snow-pruned Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi). Note how thick the trunk is, especially after you pass it. 0.27 r The "Rock Garden". 0.27 r 66 California fuchsia Epilobium canum+ 10 / 1 12 0.27 l Signpost "10" (Lichen makes soil from rock) 0.28 b Lots of squirreltail, Elymus elymoides ssp. elymoides, and Orcutt's brome, Bromus orcuttianus 0.28 r 67 muilla Muilla maritima 3 / 1 6 0.29 b 68 smoothleaf yerba santa Eriodictyon trichocalyx var. trichocalyx 10 / 2 8 0.29 r 69 silky lupine Lupinus elatus 2 / 2 5 0.29 r Bench without a back, with great views to east. 0.29 r 70 golden ear drops Dicentra chrysantha 2 / 2 5 0.30 l Signpost "12" ("Flag" trees, showing the direction of the prevailing wind) 0.32 r Signpost "13" (the downed Jeffrey pine tree was formerly standing, and had been struck by lightning) 0.32 (another twiggy wreath to check the id for.) 0.33 Jct. PCT; go left back to parking lot. 0.35 r 71 California needlegrass Achnatherum occidentale ssp. californicum 10 / 1 5 0.40 r 72 mountain spray Holodiscus microphyllus var. microphyllus 1 / 1 7 0.43 l ~ (plain mariposa lily, Calochortus invenustus) 0.43 l 73 wax currant Ribes cereum var. cereum 1 / 1 11 0.53 Loop Junction at beginning; turn right to parking lot. 0.54 Back at the parking lot trailhead.
Comments On Specific Species Eriogonum umbellatum var. munzii, Elymus elymoides ssp. elymoides, Symphoricarpos rotundifolius var. parishii, Turricula parryi, Ceanothus cordulatus, and Phacelia imbricata ssp. patula. The first examples of each of these taxa, found in 2002, are dead in 2003. Examples of each of these are found later on the trail in 2003, some of which are noted in the guide.
Ribes lasianthum. The first certain id for this taxon was at mile 0.17; earlier plants were too young to bloom or hadn't bloomed yet. The earlier plants looked the same, but may of course turn out to be different taxa.
Linanthus ciliatus and Linanthus breviculus. The Linanthus on the trail appear to be intergrades between these two species, but fall into two clearly separable groups:
Each population is found in separate groups along the trail. We have vouchered one example of each set, our vouchers #201 and #202.
- The ones we call Linanthus breviculus have bract lobes that are not conspicuously ciliate, and glandular calyxes. However, the following traits are those of Linanthus ciliatus: the corolla throat is yellow, the corolla tube is pink (but becoming a bit maroon), the leaves are 8-9 cleft, the membrane is wider than the lobes (but less so than the ones that key to Linanthus ciliatus here), and the calyx lobes are acute with a bristle tip.
- The ones we call Linanthus ciliatus have bract lobes that are conspicuously ciliate, and non-glandular calyxes. They share all the traits mentioned above found in the Linanthus breviculus hybrids that conflict with the Linanthus breviculus id, but which are now consistent with the Linanthus ciliatus id. However, these plants do not look like Linanthus ciliatus: their bract lobes are not upcurved and hence do not form a bowl around the heads of the inflorescence, and the plants are not as deep green as typical Linanthus ciliatus specimens.
Cuscuta californica var. breviflora. This dodder was growing on sulphur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum).
Epilobium canum. These plants, like many of the ones we see at high elevations of the San Gabriel Mountains, seem to be hybrids between the two subspecies. See Comments on the Jepson Manual and A Flora of Southern California by Munz: Epilobium canum.
We thank Michael Charters for finding the Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora on 7/10/03.
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Copyright © 2002-2004 by Jane Strong and Tom Chester.
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Updated 2 October 2004.