Looking west from Berlin (Ione Valley and the Paradise Range)
Over the last couple of springs and summers I’ve made an effort to become more familiar with the flora of the central and western Great Basin, east of Mono County and the Bodie Hills. Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, in northwestern Nye County, has become a favorite destination. Searching the internet for information about the flora of this area turned up very little, so that was reason enough to focus on compiling an initial catalog of plant life in this very pleasant and remote unit of the Nevada State Parks.
Trail near the campground
Berlin-Ichthyosaur sits at about the 7,000-foot elevation on the west slope of the Shoshone Range, overlooking Ione Valley. The park features the remains of Berlin (a mining town active from about 1863 to 1911), a large fossil shelter housing in-situ fossilized remains of several Ichthyosaurs (the Nevada state fossil), a campground, several trails, quiet solitude, and much plant and animal life to explore.
Were it not for the pandemic, I would be there again this month, looking for additions and corrections to my list. Later this year, I hope. For now, though, there’s enough in the list to make it worth sharing as a first-draft work-in-progress. I hope readers will find it interesting, take it as a challenge to find more species, and contact me with corrections, additions, or comments. You can find this first edition (a 2-page PDF) and any subsequent revisions on my Downloads page.
Photographs of many of the plants in this list (and a few other life forms) can be found here, on iNaturalist.
Calochortus bruneaunis
Astragalus newberryi
Penstemon kingii
Along the Richmond Canyon Trail
Astragalus calycosus
Physaria chambersii (in flower)
Physaria chambersii (in fruit)
West Union Canyon and Buffalo Mountain
Copyright © Tim Messick 2020. All rights reserved.
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Plants of the Bodie Hills 