Eastern Mojave Vegetation Tom Schweich
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Eastern Mojave Vegetation | A Checklist Flora of the Mono Basin, Mono County, California and Mineral County, Nevada. |
| Tom Schweich |
Topics in this Article: Geography Exploration, Collection, and Reports Plant Collectors in the Mono Basin Checklist of the Mono Basin Flora Checklist of the Upper Mono Basin Flora Collection Needs in the Mono Basin Literature Cited Pending | (The checklist flora is
about as complete as I'm going to get it for the 2008 season. There is still much to do, many places to collect, vouchers to examine, and previous research to write about, especially the early research that led to the Mono Basin Research Group and the Mono Lake Committee. Stay tuned for further details. Comments and suggestions will be cheerfully received. Tom Schweich, 19 March 2008.)
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No matter how you first see it, Mono Lake will always impress. The view from Conway Summit, the descent from Tioga Pass, the bitter alkaline water, or the strange and fantastic tufa towers never fail to leave an indelible impression. Nestled into a tectonic depression, but still at a high altitude (higher than Lake Tahoe), at the boundary between the high Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin, significant botanic shifts should be visible across short horizontal distances. Things are always more exciting at the interfaces, whether we're talking about geology, botany, food or music. There's no reason why the Mono Basin should be any different.
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I adopted this project because it seemed that such a place needed an updated list of plants that make the basin their home. I hope that you enjoy learning about the plants of the Mono Basin, and that the checklist makes a valuable addition to your visit.
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I have tried to make this flora strongly collections-based, i.e., there is at least one publically accessible collection for every taxon listed.
The Internet and online herbaria data bases, especially the Consortium of California Herbaria (ucjeps.berkeley.edu/consortium/) made this possible. I am very indebted to the University and Jepson Herbaria for making the California data available for examination in the middle of the night … while wearing my robe and pajamas, … and my bunny slippers.
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Nomenclature follows The Jepson Manual, 2nd Edition (ined.) |
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| | Geography
| Literature Cited:
The Mono Basin is a closed, internal-drainage basin located East of Yosemite National Park in California, United States. It is bordered to the West by the Sierra Nevada, to the East by the Cowtrack Mountain, to the North by the Bodie Hills, and to the South by the North ridge of the Long Valley.
| Geologically, Bursik and Sieh (1989) describe the Mono Basin as the area bounded by the Bodie Hills, Cowtrack Mountain, Long Valley Caldera, and the Sierra Nevada on the north, east, south, and west. | Literature Cited: From a structural
geology perspective, the Mono Basin is a down-warped structural basin bounded by flexures on the north, east, and west, and bounded by the Sierra Nevada frontal fault on the west. Structural development of the basin has occurred largely in the last 3 m. y. and is still in progress (Gilbert, C. M., M. N. Christensen, Yehya Al-Rawi, and K. R. Lajoie. 1968).
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From a hydrographic perspective, the Mono Basin is defined by all streams that drain into Mono Lake. On the north, east and south, the hydrographic basin coincides roughly with the structural basin. However, on the west, the Mono Basin extends west of the Sierra Nevada frontal fault to the Sierra crest. Thus Tioga Pass, Mount Dana and Mount Conness are all on the western boundary of the Mono Basin. Major streams in the Mono Basin that originate in the high Sierra are Rush Creek, with tributaries Parker Creek and Walker Creek, Lee Vining Creek, and Mill Creek.
| | Literature Cited: From a biogeographical perspective,
I have found no definition of Mono Basin. The Jepson Manual (Hickman, 1993), places the lower portions of the Mono Basin in East of Sierra Nevada (SNE) which includes the Sweetwater Mountains, Bridgeport Valley, Bodie, Mono Basin, Long Valley, and the Owens Valley. The CalFlora Ecological Sub-Units divide the basin into Northern Mono (MNOn) and Southern Mono (MNOs). These sub-units extend to the Sierra crest on the west.
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For my purposes, I have defined the Mono Basin hydrographically. However, I have also subdivided the basin into three sub-basins. They are:
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| Literature Cited: Russell (1889,
300-301) did not believe the waters of Pleistocene Lake Russell entered the present day northern part of Alkali Valley. He based his conclusion on the absense of wave cut terraces around the valley. However, Reheis, et al. (2002) show that a paleovalley, now beneath an andesite flow from Mount Hicks, could have been a spillway. This evidence is supported by presence of well rounded, polished pebbles and cobbles in a terrace below Hicks Valley.
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| Mono Basin
|  Grant Lake from the north shore. 
Gull Lake, in the June Lakes Loop.
Locations: Grant Lake. Gull Lake. June Lake. Lee Vining Creek. Lee Vining Canyon. Lundy. Lundy Canyon. Lundy Lake. Mono Basin. Parker Creek. Parker Lake. Reversed Peak. Rush Creek. Silver Lake. Walker Creek (Lower). Walker Lake.
My definition of the "Mono Basin" includes the entire hydrographic basin, less that portion on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada above 8400 ft. (2560 m). From south to north, this includes the entire June Lake Loop and the four lakes of June Lake, Gull Lake, Silver Lake, and Grant Lake. Just below Agnew Lake, one would pass from my definition of the Mono Basin into the Upper Mono Basin. In my location data, the location of "Rush Creek" is entirely within the (lower) Mono Basin, while "Upper Rush Creek" is in the Upper Mono Basin.
| I include the entirety of Reversed Peak in the Mono Basin, even though its highest point, at 9455 ft (2881 m), is a thousand feet above my upper limit for the Mono Basin. This fact might be significant if there were actually any plant collections from Reversed Peak. However, to date, I have found none in California herbaria. Parker Lake, on Parker Creek, a tributary to Rush Creek, is just barely below the upper limit for the (lower) Mono Basin, and therefore every location immediately above Parker Lake is in the Upper Mono Basin. Walker Lake on Walker Creek in Bloody Canyon is in the (lower) Mono Basin, and everything above Walker Lake is in the Upper Mono Basin. Although, generally, I treat Bloody Canyon as being in the Upper Mono Basin. The floor of Lee Vining Canyon is in the (lower) Mono Basin. Everything above is in the Upper Mono Basin; for example, Warren Canyon, or the Warren Fork of Lee Vining Creek is in the Upper Mono Basin. As with the other western canyons, the floor of Lundy Canyon, including Lundy and Lundy Lake, are in the (lower) Mono Basin, and most every location above there is in the Upper Mono Basin.
| Locations: Bodie. Bodie Hills. Mono Diggings.
The northern boundary of the Mono Basin comprises portions of the Bodie Hills from Conway Summit, to the Mount Hicks Spillway in Mineral County, Nevada.
| |  Panorama of Mono Lake near Conway Summit Other Articles: U. S. Highway 395: at Conway Summit, north edge of Mono Basin Locations: Conway Summit.
The western boundary of the Mono Basin in Lundy Canyon becomes the northern boundary by snaking out of Lundy Canyon and across the face of Copper Mountain to Conway Summit, elevation 8143 ft. (2482 m.). Between Copper Mountain and Conway Summit is the headwaters of Wilson Creek, most of which is below the 8400 foot boundary between the lower and upper basin.
| From Conway Summit the northern boundary passes north of Rattlesnake Gulch and Rancheria Gulch to an unnamed hill at elevation 8662 feet. |  View across Mono Basin to Cowtrack Mountain Other Articles: Coyote Springs Road: at edge of Mono Basin Locations: Bridgeport Canyon. The northern boundary crosses an unnamed pass at the head of Bridgeport Canyon, then crosses several peaks to a small peak (8717 ft) 2/3 mile west of Mount Biedeman.
| | Locations: Mount Biedeman.
From the small peak west of Mount Biedeman, then northern boundary turns north to a small pass and California Highway 270 in the Cottonwood Canyon drainage.
| Mount Biedeman itself is entirely inside the Mono Basin, as the north side drains into the basin through Cottonwood Canyon, while the south side drains into Bridgeport Canyon and the Goat Ranch area. |  Upper Cottonwood Canyon from CA Highway 270 
Murphy Spring … Full O' Cows Other Articles: California Highway 270: Murphy Spring Locations: Cottonwood Canyon. Murphy Spring.
East and north of Mount Biedeman, the Cottonwood Canyon drainage extends deeply into the Bodie Hills, about 5 miles north of California Highway 270, all the way to the summit of Bodie Hill. For the purposes of this checklist, I exclude the portions of the Cottonwood Canyon drainage north of California Highway 270.
| The northern boundary then follows California Highway 270 through the Cottonwood Canyon basin. Murphy Spring, adjacent to California Highway 270, but on the north side of the road would be strictly excluded. However, I continue to include Murphy Spring because there are a couple of interesting collection from the location. California Highway 270 exits the Mono Basin at a small pass at about 1.5 miles southwest of Bodie. The basin boundary swings south and then east across an unnamed hill to a pass just north of Sugarloaf. |
The hill known as Sugarloaf, south of Bodie and California Highway 270, is good landmark for eastern edge of the Cottonwood Canyon drainage.
| Sugarloaf itself is entirely inside the strict definition of the Mono Basin, as all of its slopes drain into Cottonwood Canyon. Just a half mile north of Sugarloaf is a small pass through which Cottonwood Canyon Road enters the Bodie Creek basin from Cottonwood Canyon. |
From Sugarloaf just south of Bodie, the northern boundary curves north to the Brawley Peaks before turning east between Aurora Peak and Spring Peak.
| |  Looking north into Alkali Valley at north edge of Mono Basin.
Other Articles: Forest Road 058: in Alkali Valley Locations: Alkali Valley. |
| Locations: Mount Hicks.
The Mono Basin boundary goes northwest to Mount Hicks and then curves northeast to the Mount Hicks Spillway, the most northern point of the basin at the north end of Alkali Valley.
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Locations: Mount Hicks Spillway.
The Mount Hicks Spillway is the most northern part of the Mono Basin.
| |  View of Mono Basin and the Sierra Nevada from Anchorite Pass
Other Articles: Dobie Meadows Road: at Adobe Hills Spillway Nevada Highway 359: at east edge of Mono Basin Locations: Adobe Hills Spillway. Alkali Valley. Anchorite Pass.
From the Mount Hicks spillway, the northern boundary passes across Powell Mountain and then curves south across Table Mountain and through the Anchorite Hills to the main eastern landmark at Anchorite Pass on Nevada Highway 359 (California Highway 167).
| The eastern boundary of the Mono Basin from Anchorite Pass to the Adobe Hills Spillway is pretty vague through the Adobe Hills as there are few well-known landmarks. |  Big
Sand Flat, looking into the Mono Basin from near Sagehen Summit.
Mono Lake and the Mono Basin as seen from Cowtrack Mountain
Adobe Hills Spillway from Cowtrack Mountain
Other Articles: California Highway 120: at Sagehen Summit, at southeast edge of Mono Basin U. S. Highway 395: at Deadman Summit, south edge of Mono Basin Locations: Big Sand Flat. Cowtrack Mountain. Deadman Summit. Mono Craters. Sagehen Summit.
From the Adobe Hills Spillway to Cowtrack Mountain to Sagehen Summit, the southeastern boundary is pretty straight-forward.
| From Sagehen Summit, the southern boundary of the Mono Basin loops south and above Big Sand Flat, though not quite including Sagehen Meadows and Sagehen Peak, Indiana Summit and Deadman Summit on US Highway 395. |
| Upper Mono Basin
| Literature Cited: Locations: Dana Plateau. Log Cabin Mine Pendant. Upper Mono Basin. Mount Dana. Rush Creek (Upper). San Joaquin Mountain. Slate Creek Valley.
From north to south, I have defined the Upper Mono Basin from Excelsior Mountain and the upper portions of Mill Creek, south along the east side of the Sierra Crest to San Joaquin Mountain. The northern end contains such collecting locations as Cascade Lake and Steelhead Lake. South across Lundy Pass, the Lee Vining Creek drainage is entered, starting at Conness Glacier, Saddlebag Lake, the Slate Creek Basin in the Harvey Monroe Hall Natural Area, Tioga Pass, Tioga Lake and the Dana Plateau. This area includes on the east the Tioga Crest, Mount Warren, and Lee Vining Peak. Between Tioga Peak and Mount Warren is the Warren Fork of Lee Vining Creek -- often called Warren Creek -- and Warren Canyon.
| South of the Dana Plateau are Walker Creek in Bloody Canyon, headed by Mono Pass, and then Parker Creek, and the Koip Crest. Then we enter the Upper Rush Creek or Gem Lake basin, which includes the east slope of Mount Lyell, Mount Davis, bounded by Island Pass and Agnew Pass, southeast to the mountains above June Lake. |
Literature Cited: Locations: Bodie Hills. Mono Basin. Sweetwater Mountains.
| Floristic Research in Nearby AreasThe Sweetwater Mountains are 20 km north of the Mono Basin. There are two published papers and an informal checklist of plants found there. Lavin (1983) published a paper on the floristics of the Upper Walker River, California and Nevada. Among other findings was a 90 percent floristic similarity (Sorenson's) between the Sweetwater Mountains, lying to the east of the Sierra, and the east slope of the Sierra Nevada (within the Walker River drainage), which indicates the Sweetwaters to be more affiliated with the Sierran flora instead of the Intermountain flora.Hunter and Johnson (1983) concentrated on the alpine flora of the Sweetwater Mountains, also finding a closer affinity between the Sweetwater Mountains and the eastern Sierra Nevada than with the Great Basin mountain ranges. Marty Wojciechowski (Arizona State University) prepared a checklist for a Flora of the Sweetwater Mountains Workshop sponsored by the Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley, in June 2002. I haven't seen this checklist. Tim Messick wrote a flora of the Bodie Hills as his Masters thesis in 1982 at Humboldt State University. I have not seen this either. Messick's results were included in Lavin (1983) above. However, they were aggregated into a geographic area of the Masonic Hills, Bodie Hills, Pine Grove Hills, and the southwest slopes of the Pine Nut Range, and the Bodie Hills data cannot be disaggregated from the published tables. | Literature Cited: Locations: Glass Mountain. To the south of the Mono Basin,
Michael Honer's vascular flora of the Glass Mountain region (Honer, 2001) covers a region just to the southeast of the Mono Basin. There is some overlap between in the areas covered by this flora and the Glass Mountain flora. In particular, the areas of Big Sand Flat and Little Sand Flat are covered by both.
| | Literature Cited: Locations: White Mountains. Lloyd
and Mitchell's (1973) Flora of the White Mountains, California and Nevada, was the first published flora of the White Mountains.
| | Literature Cited: The most recent
floristic checklist of the White Mountains is Morefield, Taylor, and DeDecker (1988). The number of taxa on their checklist represented a 41.7% increase over the Lloyd and Mitchell flora of 15 years previous. At the end of field work in 1987, taxa new to the White Mountains were being discovered at a constant rate of about two every three days of work in previously unexplored areas. The authors note that the list remains far from complete and that field work continues.
| | Literature Cited: Mary DeDecker contributed Chapter 6
- Shrubs and Flowering Plants in Hall's (1991) Natural History of the White-Inyo Range. A chapter on trees was contributed by Deborah L. Elliot-Fisk and Ann M. Peterson. Timothy Spria's chapter on Plant Zones is based on Mooney's treatment in Lloyd and Mitchell (1973).
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Literature Cited:
The northern Mojave Desert, comprised of the Eureka Valley, Saline Valley, Death Valley, and Panamint Valley, and their surrounding mountains, south to the approximate border of San Bernardino County was coevered by Mary DeDecker's (1984) Flora of the Northern Mojave Desert. The Mono Basin is separated from that area by about 50 miles including the bulk of the White Mountains.
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| | Finding Historic Locations |
Farrington's | |
Maloney's Place | |
Mono Lake Post Office | |
| Exploration, Collection, and Reports | Literature Cited: |
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| Geological Survey of California | Literature Cited: The Geologic Survey
of California crossed the Mono Basin twice: once, with W. H. Brewer as the botanist, in early July, 1863, and again, with H. N. Bolander as botanist in early September, 1866.
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There are 26 collections with Brewer listed as the collector, and 17 collections with Bolander the collector. In additon, US has 13 collections from the same time period made at Mono Pass and Mono Lake with "State Survey" or "State Geological Survey" listed as the collecter.
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| | Plant Collectors in the Mono Basin
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| Miss Maud Minthorn | Locations: Lundy.
There are 75 vouchers of collections made by Miss Maud Minthorn in the vicinity of Lundy during the summer of 1908. Maud Aileen Minthorn (26 March 1883-1966), was born in Plymouth County, Iowa to Pennington Wesley Minthorn and Anna Mary Heald. Her brother was Theodore Wilson Minthorn, who made a few plant collections himself.
| | Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: in Pahranagat Range Locations: Pioche.
The two locations from which I have seen Minthorn collections: Lundy, California, and Pioche, Nevada, suggest that Miss Minthorn's family was associated with the mining industry. In that sense, Miss Minthorn's early life may have paralleled that of Fanny Searls' who collected in the Pahranagat Range after traveling there with her father.
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All of Miss Minthorn's Mono Basin collections give "vicinity of Lundy" as the collection location. I have assigned all of the collections to the lower portion of the Mono Basin. It is likely, however, that some of the collections were made above 8400 feet and, therefore, would have been assigned to the upper Mono Basin were more detailed location information available.
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There is one plant named for Miss Minthorn: Astragalus minthorniae Jepson. Fl. Calif ii. 374 (1936). (Syn: Hamosa minthorniae Rydb. Bull. Torr. Club 54:15 (1927)) The type locality is Pioche, Lincoln County, Nevada. This was Miss Maud Minthorn's collection number 77 made on 24 April 1909. The holotype is at NY.
| | Other Articles: Swertia albomarginata: near Pioche Mis Minthorn also collected
Swertia albomarginata in the vicinity of Pioche, Nevada Nevada, on 9 June, 1909, her collection #44.
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Miss Minthorn received an undergraduate scholarship from the State of California for the school year 1910-1911 and wrote an M. S. thesis titled "The nine-point conic," at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1912. After this time, I have found no public record of her.
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| Chesnut and Drew
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Victor King Chesnut was born on 28 June 1867 to John Andrew Chesnut and Henrietta Sarah King at Nevada City in the gold mining region of California shortly after the gold rush. The family moved to Oakland, California where he attended public schools. He was trained as a botanist and as a chemist at the University of California at Berkeley where he got a BS degree in 1890.
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Literature Cited:
Elmer Reginald Drew (1865-1930) was a Californian by birth, and devoted the best years of his life to the cause of higher
education in this state. After graduation from the University California in 1888 with a B.S. in Mechanics. Drew taught taught at
the University of California until 1902 publishing his sophoore course in physical measurements in 1889, the same year he
published "Notes on the botany of Humboldt County, California" in
Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. This was an account of
Chesnut and Drew's expedition to Humboldt County in July and
August of 1888.
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I assume that Chesnut and Drew were sent into the field by Edward Lee Greene. Greene became Instructor of Botany at the University of California in 1885, the first strictly botanical appointee. In 1890 the Department of Botany was established within the new College of Natural Sciences; the herbarium was initiated at the same time.
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Chesnut alone, and Chesnut and Drew together, collected for four years: 1887 - 1891. In 1887 they collected at Santa Rosa, Mt Tamalpais, and Mt Diablo. In July and part of August 1888, they traveled to Humboldt County, a trip about which Drew wrote. After their 1889 trip to Yosemite and Mono Lake, they collected in August 1890, around Lake Tahoe, and finally in
April 1891 in Marin County especially Bolinas.
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In 1889 Chesnut and Drew, collected in Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite area, crossing over to Mono Lake. Starting June 16th and not arriving at Bloody Canyon until July 17th, they collected at Big Trees, Sugar Pine, Rosasco's, Columbia, Lake Eleanor, Cherry River, Hetch Hetchy, Eagle Peak, Yosemite Valley, Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall, Long Meadow and Cloud's Rest, Soda Springs and Mount Dana. On July 17th they ended at Bloody Canyon, perhaps camping near Mono Pass.
| | Locations: Bloody Canyon. Mono Basin.
From July 18th to the 21st, Chesnut and Drew collected in Bloody Canyon, the foot of Bloody Canyon, near Mono Lake, and at Mono Lake. Most of the collections give "Bloody Canyon" as the location. Therefore, I don't know whether the location would be in the Mono Basin, below 8400 ft, or the Upper Mono Basin. Generally, I have assumed the (lower) Mono Basin, unless the taxon is known to be found only at higher elevations. A few vouchers state "foot of Bloody Canyon," two state "Lake Mono," and one states "sandy plain near Lake Mono." Presumably, Chesnut and Drew visited the lake, and would have passed by Farrington's but there is no other evidence in the collections to support the presumption.
| | Other Articles: Field Notes: 3-Apr-08 at UC/JEPS One of the Chesnut and Drew
collections was originally determined as Abronia fragrans Nutt. Based upon my examination of the voucher at UC, I have listed this collection as A. turbinata Torr. ex S. Watson.
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After leaving the Mono Basin, they returned to Berkeley by way of Soda Springs (July 22), Tuolumne Canyon (July 25), and Lake Eleanor (July 28).
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Drew left the University of California in 1902 to complete his work for the doctorate at Cornell, and received the degree of Ph.D. there in 1903. Then after further study Germany, he became a member of the Department of Physics at Stanford in 1905, until his death on October 19th, 1930. There are four species named for Drew: Astragalus gambelianus E. Sheld. var. elmeri (Greene) J. T. Howell, Erigeron elmeri (Greene) Greene (Syn: Aster elmeri Greene), Lupinus elmeri Greene, and Sisyrinchium elmeri Greene.
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Chesnut completed his training as a botanist and as a chemist at the University of California at Berkeley where he got a BS degree in 1890. Later he acquired some training at the University of Chicago and Columbian University which is now George Washington University. He taught chemistry at the University of California and at Montana State College (MSC) which later became Montana State University (MSU).
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In 1894 he was the first person employed full time to research plant poisonings by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the Bureau of Plant Industry under the supervision of the botanist Frederick V. Coville.
| | Literature Cited: Chesnut and Edmund V.
Wilcox, spent the summer months of 1900 in Montana investigating plant poisonings. They travelled over 7000 miles via railroads, stage-coaches and on horseback investigating outbreaks of plant poisoning in every county of that large state. Their voluminous report (Chesnut and Wilcox, 1901) documented several types of plant poisoning especially those caused by Delphinium, Zigadenus and Lupinus. Chesnut taught at Montana State University. Chesnut moved from Bozeman to Washington, DC in 1907 to accept a position in the Bureau of Chemistry that later became the US Food and Drug Administration. He published a few articles after that but not on the subject of poisonous plants. Although he lived in Hyattsville, Maryland where he died on 29 August 1938 at age 71, he was buried in the cemetery at St John's Episcopal Church in Beltsville, Maryland. The taxon Ribes victoris Greene is named for Victor King Chesnut.
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| Malcolm A. Nobs and S. Galen SmithMalcolm A. Nobs and S. Galen Smith made 33 collections of plants around water sources on September 1, 1949, as part of California Division Fish Game Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project #20-R. Project reports referenced by State of California, Online Archive of California, Inventory of the Department of Natural Resources Records, 1927-Sept. 30, 1961, in [ Folder F3735:551 ], referred to this as Project 20R, Survey of Waterfowl Food Plants of California - quarterly progress reports, 1945-50.The Pittman Robertson Act, also known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (50 Stat. 917), approved September 2, 1937, was the result of concerted efforts by wildlife and conservation organizations to provide some means of restoring natural conditions so as to offset the rapid depletion of many species of wild mammals and birds and provide a surplus to be harvested annually by hunting. Funding was limited to amounts not exceeding the annual revenue from the tax on sales of arms and ammunition and matched in the ratio of 75% Federal and 25% State moneys. The program was administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. S. Galen Smith is an emereti of the Department of Biology, University of Wisonsin-Whitewater and is still active in California floristics, being the author for a portion of Cyperaceae, and all of Sparganiaceae and Typhaceae, for The Jepson Manual (2nd edition). Malcolm A. Nobs worked for a time at the Timberline Experiment Station and completed a Ph.D. in Botany at the University of California, Berkeley, 1957. | Literature Cited: | William H. BrewerWilliam H. Brewer was the botanist on the Geological Survey of California, 1860-1864. Brewer and [a companion] crossed Mono Pass on July 7, 1863, and descended "the terrible trail" of Bloody Canyon camping ... "in the high grass and weeds by a stream a short distance south of Lake Mono." The next day they climbed Mono Craters describing the scene as "...desolate enough -- barren volcanic mountains standing in a desert cannot form a cheering picture." On July 10th, they moved 10 miles north over the plain and camped at the northwest corner of Lake Mono. The next day travelled to the islands with a man gathering eggs for sale in Aurora. They spent the night on Paoha Island and returned to their camp the next day. After a long rainy night, they decamped and travelled to Aurora on July 12, 1863. |
| Henry N. Bolander | Literature Cited: Henry N. Bolander (1831-1897)
succeeded W. H. Brewer as the State Botanist of California and began making collections for the Survey. Bolander collected cryptogams and flowering plants, and became a specialist on grasses. He would continue this connection with the State Geological Survey until it was discontinued.
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| | Collection Locations in the Mono Basin |  Number of Collections by Location.
This map shows where plants have been collected in the Mono Basin. It was prepared by collecting events at each point described by latitude and longitude. Collections made in the Upper Mono Basin (above 8400 feet) are excluded.
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Some data could not be accurately portrayed and was deleted. For example, some collections give the location as "Mono Lake" or even just "Mono Basin." It's impossible to know where to place a marker for these collections, and they are not shown on this map.
| | Locations: Lundy.
Other data has been portrayed as accurately as can be, but may not be the actual place of collection. For example, all of Miss Maud Minthorn's collections give the location as "vicinity of Lundy." These are all plotted at Lundy.
| | Locations: Lee Vining Creek. Lee Vining Canyon. Lee Vining Ranger Station. Rush Creek.
Other collections give only creek names as locations, such as "Lee Vining Creek." or "Rush Creek." These have been plotted on the deltas of those respective creeks, where they enter Mono Lake. Collections that have location descriptions such as "Lee Vining Creek near USFS Ranger Station" are plotted at the most specific point possible, in this case, at the Lee Vining Ranger Station in Lee Vining Canyon.
| | Locations: Big Sand Flat. Lee Vining Canyon. Lundy Canyon.
The map shows that there are many collections around the northwest shore of Mono Lake, in Lee Vining Canyon, and in Lundy Canyon. Big Sand Flat is also a popular collecting locality.
| | Locations: Bodie Hills.
Not unexpectedly, there are few collections from the eastern portions of the Mono Basin. I am a little surprised at how few collections there are in the Bodie Hills, along the north side of the basin.
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| | Checklist of the Mono Basin Flora |
The checklist is available is three different forms. Having placed all the data into a database makes it possible to easily change the data included in a checklist and the format in which it is displayed.
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The "Plant Check List for Mono Basin, Mono County, United States" is available at:
http://www.schweich.com/checklistCAMnoMonoBasin.html
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The"Detailed Area Plant List for Mono Basin, Mono County, United States" is available at:
http://www.schweich.com/arealistdetCAMnoMonoBasin.html
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There is also a "Summary Area Plant List for Mono Basin, Mono County, United States" is available at:
http://www.schweich.com/arealistCAMnoMonoBasin.html
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| | Checklist of the Upper Mono Basin Flora |
The checklist is available is three different forms. Having placed all the data into a database makes it possible to easily change the data included in a checklist and the format in which it is displayed.
| The preparation of the checklists for the Upper Mono Basin is mostly a by-product of the checklist for the Mono Basin. As each voucher of a Mono County collection was examined, I first determined whether the collection was made within the Mono Lake hydrographic basin and, if so, recorded the data. Later, I made the determination of whether the collection locality was in the (lower) Mono Basin or the Upper Mono Basin. Regardless, I have put less energy into completing the checklist of the Upper Mono Basin. Therefore, the data in the checklist for the Upper Mono Basin are more likely to be incomplete, rather than incorrect. |
The "Plant Check List for Upper Mono Basin, Mono County, United States" is available at:
http://www.schweich.com/checklistCAMnoMonoBasinU.html
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The"Detailed Area Plant List for Upper Mono Basin, Mono County, United States" is available at:
http://www.schweich.com/arealistdetCAMnoMonoBasinU.html
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There is also a "Summary Area Plant List for Upper Mono Basin, Mono County, United States" is available at:
http://www.schweich.com/arealistCAMnoMonoBasinU.html
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| | Collection Needs in the Mono Basin |
| Some Significant Name Changes |
All of Chenopodiaceae has been moved to Amaranthaceae. |
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Arenaria has been broken up into Eremogone and Minuartia.
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The fireweeds have been moved to Chamerion from Epilobium, scared off, no doubt, by the incorporation of Zauschneria into Epilobium.
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Mimulus has moved to Phyrmaceae from Scrophulariaceae. |
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Most of Chrysothamnus has moved to Ericameria. Of the taxa found in the Mono Basin, this has happened for Chrysothamnus nauseosus and C. parryi. The status of Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus and varieties is still tentative.
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Veratrum and Zigadenus has moved to Melanthiaceae from Liliaceae.
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Smilacina has moved to Ruscaceae from Liliaceae and been renamed to Maianthemum. Muilla has also moved to Ruscaceae.
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Muilla and Triteleia have moved to Themidaceae from Liliaceae.
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| Literature CitedA list of all literature cited by this web site can be found in the Bibliography.
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| Brewer, William H. 1966 (3rd ed.). pp. in (edited by Francis P. Farquhar). Up and Down California in 1860-1864. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1966.
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| Bursik, Marcus and Kerry Sieh. 1989. Range Front Faulting and Volcanism in the Mono Basin, Eastern California. Journal of Geophysical Research. 94(111):15,587-15,609. {TAS-pdf} Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Chesnut, V. K., and E. V. Wilcox. 1901. The Stock-poisoning Plants of Montana. Preliminary Report. Bulletin #26m.. Washington, DC: United States Department of Agriculture. Division of Botany. Government Printing Office., 1901.
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| DeDecker, Mary. 1984. Flora of the northern Mojave Desert, California. Berkeley, CA: Califonia Native Plant Society.. {TAS} Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Drew, E. R. 1889. A sophomore course in physical measurements. Berkeley, California: University of California, 1898.
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| Drew, E. R. 1889. Notes on the botany of Humboldt County, California. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. XVI(6):147-152.
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| Gilbert, C. M., M. N. Christensen, Yehya Al-Rawi, and K. R. Lajoie. 1968. Structural and Volcanic History of Mono Basin, California-Nevada. pp. 275-329 in Coats, Robert R., Richard L. Hay, and Charles A. Anderson. Studies in Volcanology: A Memoir in Honor of Howel Williams. Memoir 116. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America, 1968. ... Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Hall, Clarence A., Jr. 1991. Natural History of the White-Inyo Range, eastern California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.. {TAS}
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| Hickman, James C. (Ed.). 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.. Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Honer, Michael A. 2001. VASCULAR FLORA OF THE GLASS MOUNTAIN REGION, MONO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. Aliso. 20(2):75-105. {TAS} Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Hunter, K. B., and R. E. Johnson. 1983. Alpine flora of the Sweetwater Mountains, Mono County, California. Madrono. 30(4):89-105. Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Jepson, Willis Linn. 1898. Dr. Henry N. Bolander, Botanical Explorer. Erythea. 6(10):100-107. |
| Lavin, M. 1983. Floristics of the upper Walker River, California and Nevada. Great Basin Naturalist. 43(1):93-130. Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Lloyd, Robert M., and Richard S. Mitchell. 1973. A Flora of the White Mountains, California and Nevada. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
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| Messick, T. H. 1982. Flora and phytogeography of the Bodie Hills of Mono County, California and Mineral County, Nevada, USA. M. A. Thesis. Arcata, California: Humboldt State University. Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Morefield, James D., Dean Wm. Taylor, and Mary DeDecker. 1988. Vascular Flora of the White Mountains of California and Nevada: An Updated, Synonymized Working Checklist. pp. 310-364 in Hall, Clarence A., Jr and Victoria Doyle-Jones, 1988. The Mary DeDecker Symposium, University of California, White Mountain Research Station.. Plant Biology of Eastern California.
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| Porsild, A. E. 1960. Stellaria longipes Goldie and its allies in North America. Contributions to Botany, 1960-61. National Museum of Canada, Bulletin No. 186, Biological Series No. 70. Ottawa, Canada: 1963. {TAS} |
| Reheis, Marith C., Scott Stine, and Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki. 2002. Drainage reversals in Mono Basin during the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. GSA Bulletin. 114(8):991-1006. {TAS-pdf} Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Russell, Isreal C. 1889. Quaternary history of Mono Valley, California. Eighth Annual Report of the U. S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survery, 1889. {TAS} Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Sharsmith, Carl W. 1940. A contribution to the history of the alpine flora of the Sierra Nevada. Thesis (Ph. D. in Botany)--University of California, Berkeley, May 1940.. Location records referred to by this literature:
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| Winkler, David W. 1977. An Ecological Study of Mono Lake, California. Institute of Ecology Publication No. 12. Davis, California: University of California, June 1977. {TAS} Location records referred to by this literature:
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Compare the two collections of Alice Ottley #1093, one is an undetermined Epilobium, the other Gayophytum diffusum parviflorum.
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| | Pending
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No Spartina in Mono Basin? |
| Literature Cited: Stellaria longipes |
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Comments from David Gowen, 11-Nov-07: | The Eriogonum eastwoodianum has to be a mis-ID, and I just posted a comment to SBBG to let them know that. The plant is rare and consists of only a couple of populations near the Parkfield Grade in Fresno/Monterey Co. The Eriastrum filifolium is likewise mis-IDed. Some are E. wilcoxii, and some I will be annotating with a new name if the paper I submitted getspublished. Eriastrum filifolium is a southern California plant. None of the plants on your list are actually E. sparsiflorum (there have only been a couple of collections made). The closest site to the Mono Basin area that I'm aware of is Benton. It's possible it will show up somewhere, so keep your eye out. Besides Benton, it's also just south of Bishop. So far, I've only seen it in granitic sand in sage brush type habitats. If you have a
question or a comment you may write to me at: tas4@schweich.com I sometimes post
interesting questions in my FAQ, but I never disclose your full name or address.
| | Date and time this article was prepared: 5/12/2008 7:50:42 PM |
