desert star, Monoptilon bellioides

List of Species in Bloom on 2 January 2012 in Mecca Hills, Riverside County


hairy desert-sunflower, Geraea canescens
Pictures taken on 2 January 2012 in lowermost Box Canyon immediately east of the Coachella Valley Aqueduct.

This is a list of the 50 species found to be in bloom in lowermost Box Canyon, immediately east of the Aqueduct, on 2 January 2012, presumably from good rain in October 2011, along with our best estimate of the number of plants in bloom for each species. For more information about this survey, and the flora of this area, see Flora of Mecca Hills.

The Checklist is sorted first by category - dicots, monocots, and ferns - and then by family and scientific name. The Family and Scientific Name are from the Jepson Manual 1993 First Edition.

#FAMScientific Name(*)Common Name#Pls
in Fl
1Amaranthaceae Tidestromia oblongifoliaArizona honeysweet1
2Asteraceae Ambrosia dumosaburroweed2
3Asteraceae Bebbia juncea var. asperasweetbush2
4Asteraceae Encelia farinosabrittlebush3
5Asteraceae Geraea canescenshairy desert-sunflower10
6Asteraceae Monoptilon bellioidesdesert star1
7Asteraceae Palafoxia arida var. aridadesert needle50
8Asteraceae Perityle emoryiEmory's rock-daisy15
9Asteraceae Viguiera parishiiParish's viguiera1
10Boraginaceae Cryptantha angustifolianarrow-leaved cryptantha99
11Boraginaceae Cryptantha maritimaGuadalupe cryptantha5
12Brassicaceae Brassica tournefortii*Asian mustard25
13Brassicaceae Lepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpumhairy-podded pepper-grass1
14Brassicaceae Sisymbrium irio*London rocket3
15Caryophyllaceae Achyronychia cooperifrost mat50
16Chenopodiaceae Chenopodium murale*nettle-leaved goosefoot10
17Cucurbitaceae Brandegea bigeloviidesert star-vine15
18Euphorbiaceae Chamaesyce polycarpasmall-seeded spurge20
19Euphorbiaceae Chamaesyce setilobastarfish (Yuma) spurge25
20Euphorbiaceae Ditaxis californicaCalifornia ditaxis1
21Euphorbiaceae Ditaxis neomexicanaNew Mexico ditaxis10
22Euphorbiaceae Euphorbia erianthabeetle spurge1
23Fabaceae Caesalpinia virgatawand holdback3
24Fabaceae Dalea mollissilky dalea5
25Fabaceae Lotus strigosusstrigose lotus3
26Fabaceae Lupinus arizonicusArizona lupine99
27Fabaceae Marina parryiParry's marina1
28Fabaceae Psorothamnus emoryiEmory's indigo-bush3
29Fabaceae Psorothamnus schottiiindigo bush1
30Geraniaceae Erodium cicutarium*redstem filaree1
31Hydrophyllaceae Phacelia crenulata var. ambiguaheliotrope phacelia2
32Hydrophyllaceae Phacelia distanscommon phacelia1
33Lamiaceae Salvia columbariaechia2
34Nyctaginaceae Abronia villosa var. villosahairy sand-verbena15
35Nyctaginaceae Allionia incarnatatrailing four o'clock2
36Onagraceae Camissonia boothii ssp. condensataBooth's evening primrose2
37Onagraceae Camissonia brevipes ssp. brevipesgolden sun-cup1
38Onagraceae Camissonia cardiophylla ssp. cardiophyllaheartleaf sun-cup3
39Onagraceae Camissonia claviformis ssp. aurantiacabrown-eyed primrose35
40Plantaginaceae Plantago ovatadesert plantain1
41Polygonaceae Eriogonum inflatumdesert trumpet1
42Polygonaceae Eriogonum thomasiiThomas' buckwheat2
43Resedaceae Oligomeris linifolialineleaf whitepuff1
44Solanaceae Datura discolordesert thornapple10
45Solanaceae Datura wrightiisacred datura10
46Solanaceae Nicotiana obtusifoliadesert tobacco20
47Solanaceae Physalis crassifoliathick-leaved ground cherry75
48Poaceae Aristida adscensionissix-weeks three-awn2
49Poaceae Bouteloua aristidoides var. aristidoidesneedle grama1
50Poaceae Schismus barbatus*Mediterranean schismus5


We thank RT Hawke for alerting us to the good bloom in this area.


Go to:




Copyright © 2011 by Tom Chester, Kate Harper and Pam Pallette.
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/plants/floras/desert/mecca_hills_blooms.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Last update: 17 January 2012