Local Plants

Abronia alpina

Nyctaginaceae

Ramshaw Meadows abronia

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.1 Alpine abronia is known only from Ramshaw Meadows and Templeton Meadows. Possibly threatened by trampling and potentially threatened by meadow succession. Previously a candidate for federal listing.

Astragalus lentiginosus var. piscinensis

Fabaceae

Fish Slough milk-vetch

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.1, Federal Threatened
Endemic to Fish Slough, northern Owens Valley
Endangered throughout its range

Calochortus excavatus

Liliaceae

Inyo County star tulip

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.1
Federal Species of Concern
Inyo County star tulip is endangered throughout its range. It occurs in alkali meadows from Owens Valley area and southern Mono County, from Lubken Creek to near Bridgeport.

Dedeckera eurekensis

Polygonaceae

July gold

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.3,
Federal Species of concern
State-listed as Rare
July Gold, discovered by Mary and Paul DeDecker on July 4, 1974, is known only from the Inyo Mountains, southern White Mountains, and Last Chance Range. Possibly threatened by vehicles and non-native plants.

Diplacus rupicola

Phrymaceae

Death Valley monkeyflower

CA Rare Plant Rank List 4.3 (Plant of limited distribution). Endemic to California. Fairly common in its habitat of limestone cliffs and outcrops, but endemic to Death Valley National Park.

Enceliopsis covillei

Asteraceae

Panamint daisy

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.2
Endemic to Inyo County, California. Panamint daisy grows only on rocky slopes and canyon walls of the western slope and adjacent desert of the Panamint Mountains, Death Valley National Park. This official symbol of CNPS is threatened by horticultural collecting, mining, and grazing.

Erythranthe calcicola

Phrymaceae

Limestone monkeyflower

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.3
Rare in California and elsewhere. Limestone monkeyflower, described in 2012, is known from the northern Mojave Desert of eastern California and southwestern Nevada. It occurs nearly exclusively on carbonate substrate. Limestone monkey-flower is currently known only from the Last Chance Range, White-Inyo Range, Funeral and Panamint Mountains.

Laphamia inyoensis

Asteraceae

Inyo rock daisy

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.2 State-listed as Threatened
Endemic to Inyo County, California. Inyo rock daisy is endemic to the southern Inyo Mountains, where it grows on calcareous rock outcrops and cliffs. It is threatened by mining activities.

Lupinus duranii

Fabaceae

Mono Lake lupine

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.2
Endemic to Mono County, California. Mono Lake lupine is fairly common in its habitat of gravelly, pumice-rich soils of volcanic origin in the Eastern Sierra near Mammoth Mountain and the Mono Basin.

Lupinus padrecrowleyi

Fabaceae

Father Crowley’s lupine

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.2, State-listed as Rare,
Endemic to California. Father Crowley’s lupine is found only in western Inyo and eastern Tulare Counties. It is most common around the Big Pine Canyon, Coyote Flat and Bishop Creek Canyon areas of the Eastern Sierra.

Nemacladus inyoensis

Campanulaceae

Badger Flat threadplant

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.2.
Endemic to California. Badger Flat threadplant was discovered by Steve Matson in 2010 and described as a new species in 2020. It is known from Chalfant Valley, Owens Valley, and the White-Inyo Range.

Oenothera avita ssp. eurekensis

Onagraceae

Eureka Dunes evening-primrose

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.2, State-listed as Rare. Endemic to Inyo County. Eureka Dunes evening-primrose grows only near the base of sand dunes in Eureka Valley, Death Valley National Park. It was federally listed as Endangered in 1978, closed to OHV use, and Delisted due to Recovery in 2018. Habitat previously degraded by vehicle traffic, but still threatened by illegal OHV use, foot traffic, and invasive Russian thistle.

Pinus longaeva

Pinaceae

Great Basin bristlecone pine

CA Rare Plant Rank List 4.3 (Plant of limited distribution). Bristlecone pines occur in the White-Inyo Range, and the Panamint Range within California, but range eastward through the highest mountains of Nevada and western Utah. Our CNPS chapter’s namesake species is protected within the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, managed by the Inyo National Forest in the White Mountains.

Salvia funerea

Lamiaceae

Death Valley sage

CA Rare Plant Rank List 4.3, (Plant of limited distribution). Death Valley sage is often found on lower canyon walls within Death Valley National Park and adjacent habitats in Nevada.

Sidalcea covillei

Malvaceae

Owens Valley checkerbloom

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.1, State-listed as Endangered. Endemic to Inyo County. Owens Valley checkerbloom grows in meadows and seep habitats from near Coso Junction north to Fish Slough. It is threatened by development, groundwater pumping, non-native plants, grazing, and meadow succession.

Swallenia alexandrae

Poaceae

Eureka Valley dune grass

CA Rare Plant Rank List 1B.2, Federally Threatened, State-listed as Endangered. Endemic to Inyo County, California. Eureka Valley dune grass is known only from Eureka Valley, Death Valley National Park. Its dune habitat was previously degraded by vehicle traffic. Populations are recovering well, but still threatened by illegal OHV use.