Monthly Archives: July 2018

One of the guiding principles for any floristic survey (looking for all the plants that occur in an area) is that the more time you spend looking, the more different things you are likely to find. Corollary to this is that the more people who look and the more different habitats they all explore, the more kinds of plants will turn up. (The same principle holds for faunal surveys as well.)

This is part of the excitement and the lure for people interested in exploring and documenting biodiversity: the job is never done. There’s always something else to find.

When I first surveyed the Bodie Hills in the early 1980s, my main source of information was my own collections (during three summers) plus some records in the California Natural Diversity Database, a few mentions in botanical books and journal articles, and correspondence with a few other botanists making occasional visits to the area.

Since then, my “search intensity” has expanded greatly through hundreds of specimen collection records, some dating back many decades, that have become available on the internet. The main sources for these have been the Consortium of California Herbaria (CCH), Calflora, and the Intermountain Regional Herbarium Network (IRHN). The internet has also provided access to other floristic studies, plant lists, environmental studies, and resource management plans, all with lists of species seen or collected in parts of the Bodie Hills.

Recently, and especially in the last year, additions to the Bodie Hills flora have come to light through (1) generous sharing of collection data by Ann Howald, who is compiling a flora for all of Mono County, (2) last year’s collection data on CCH from Jim Andre, and (3) observations posted by several keen observers to iNaturalist.

Here, then, is a list of 27 additions to the Bodie Hills flora that have come to my attention in just the last six months, since the release of the January 2018 edition. Additional details, including sources for each find, are in a 3-page PDF you can download from the Downloads page.

DICOTS

APIACEAE
Cymopterus purpurascens. Widewing springparsley. Northeast edge of Bodie Hills.
Perideridia parishii subsp. latifolia Wide-leaved Parish’s yampah. Cottonwood Canyon Rd., south of Bodie.
Sium suave. Hemlock waterparsnip. Bridgeport Valley and Bridgeport.

ASTERACEAE
Antennaria rosea  ssp. confinis. Rosy pussytoes. Upper Rough Creek drainage.
Arnica longifolia. Spearleaf arnica. Rough Creek near Geiger Grade and meadow in saddle between Bodie Mountain and Potato Peak.
Chaenactis xantiana. Fleshy Pincushion. Lower Rough Creek, southwest of Nine Mile Ranch.
Dieteria canescens var. leucanthemifolia. Hoary-aster. Near Geiger Grade, north of Bodie; upper Rough Creek drainage.
Erigeron divergens Spreading fleabane. Hwy 270 at Cinnabar Canyon.

BORAGINACEAE
Cryptantha glomeriflora. Cluster-flowered cryptantha. Upper Rough Creek drainage near Potato Peak.
Cryptantha mohavensis Mojave cryptantha. Ridge on south side of Aurora Canyon.
Cryptantha pterocarya var. purpusii. Wingnut cryptantha. Cottonwood Canyon Rd, south of Bodie, white sandy ash.
Plagiobothrys kingii var. kingii. Southern great basin popcornflower. Hwy 270 at Cinnabar Canyon.

BRASSICACEAE
Chorispora tenella. Purple mustard, Crossflower. Disturbed areas, near East Walker River; Mono Basin near Conway Grade.
Descurainia nelsonii. Nelson’s Tansy-mustard. Hwy 270 at Cinnabar Canyon.

FABACEAE
Lupinus argenteus var. montigenus. Silvery lupine. East side of Potato Peak.

GERANIACEAE
Erodium cicutarium. Redstem filaree. Near East Walker River; Mormon Meadow.

NYCTAGINACEAE
Abronia turbinata. White sand verbena. Beside NF-028 in Fletcher Valley.

PHRYMACEAE
Mimulus breweri. Brewer’s monkeyflower. Upper Rough Creek drainage near Potato Peak.

POLEMONIACEAE
Gilia brecciarum subsp. brecciarum. Nevada gilia. Between Masonic Mountain and New York Hill.
Gilia modocensis. Modoc gilia. Radio tower ridge northeast of Conway Summit.
Navarretia linearifolia subsp. linearifolia. Linear-leaved navarretia. Ephemeral drainage near mine south of Mormon Meadow.

POLYGONACEAE
Rumex crispus L. Curly dock. Meadow at Coyote Spring.

RANUNCULACEAE
Myosurus apetalus var. montanus. Bristly mousetail. East of Hwy 395; upper Rough Creek drainage.

RUBIACEAE
Kelloggia galioides. Kelloggia. Ridge on south side of Aurora Canyon.

MONOCOTS

CYPERACEAE
Eleocharis bella. Spikerush. Ephemeral drainage near mine south of Mormon Meadow.

JUNCACEAE
Juncus bufonius var. occidentalis. Western toad rush. Chemung Lake, Coyote Spring, stream below mine south of Mormon Meadow.

POACEAE
Deschampsia danthonioides. Annual hairgrass. South shore of Chemung Lake.

---

Photos in this post other than mine are licensed for reuse under Creative Commons.

---

Copyright © Tim Messick 2018. All rights reserved.
DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST and the July 2018 list of ADDITIONS