Eucnide urens

Rock Nettle or Stingbush

Loasaceae

A deceptively innocent looking plant, Eucnide urens is one of my personal

favorite plants found in the Panamint valley. As the plant's common name attests, it is equipped with a stinging defense mechanism, which is more than likely to deter herbivores from consuming its leaves. The plant's sting is quite powerful, but not entirely like that of a true nettle (which are family Urticaceae). The pain of the sting is much sharper, but levels off to a dull ache after a few minutes. The stinging defense is so powerful, in fact, that while handling the plant with leather gloves, I was still repeatedly stung. Even dried, the leaves' stinging barbs are sharp enough to inflict a painful sting. The leaves have two types of stinging hair, one long and sharp, the other narrower and barbed. These barbed hairs will catch in clothes, and make it very difficult to remove the leaf without further contact.

Despite this rather powerful defense, one which I've been on the receiving

end of more than once, I'm very fond of Eucnide and find it to be a magnificent plant. Growing in rock cracks, on cliff faces and in drainages, its a hardy survivor of a plant. When in bloom, the blossoms are a spectacular creamy white, which is accented by the silvery sheen of this year's leaves, and the tan of the previous year's growth. When found growing on a sheer cliff face, it adds a touch of regal splendor to an already ruggedly beautiful landscape.

There has been some debate recently in the botanical community as to whether Eucnide should be classified as a carnivorous plant. The basis for this debate is the plant's ability to kill large numbers of insects in short order; those who land on the plant's leaves are quickly dispatched by the stinging hairs. The debate arises from the question: does the plant derive any significant amount of nutrients from its kills, or are these simply an extension of the plant's natural defensive strategy.

Rare plant monitoring

One of the jobs of a BLM botanist is to monitor known populations of rare and threatened plants, as well as always keep an eye out for new populations. This monitoring is typically done by visiting a known site, and making an inventory of all known plants, as well as keeping track of any new individuals found. The most common way we perform this task in the Ridgecrest Field Office is to use a GPS unit, typically a Garmon, and whenever we find one of our target plants, mark a waypoint. By doing this, we begin to develop a distribution map that allows us to track the species over time, and keep an eye on the health of the populations in our care.

Another reason that we keep track of the rare plants is because of our nature as a multi-use agency. There are many projects that are proposed on public land can potentially have an impact on these rare species. By tracking them, we can very quickly determine if a project will be stopped. Though charismatic fauna, such as desert tortoise or raptors are much more prominent, our rare plants are protected under the same laws, and therefore, any project that would impact them can be immediately blocked. And unlike most animals, there is little that can be done to mitigate the loss of habitat, as many of these plants are found in such narrow bands of distribution, and under such specific conditions, that they can't simply be moved. Ensuring that none of our rare plants are impacted by development of the desert is one of the biggest reasons that we keep track of these species.

Astagalus geyeri var. geyeri

Geyer's milkvetch

Fabaceae

Found in Deep Springs and Fish-Lake Valley, Geyer's milkvetch is an easily overlooked plant. Standing barely 5 cm at its tallest, this small pea is among the numerous special status plants found in the California Desert District.

This milkvetch appears to be associated with blow sand habitats. They are found abundantly along a southern chain of dunes in Deep Springs valley, but sharply cut off the moment one leaves the blow sand and enters more rocky habitat. I found that these tiny plants, at first very easily overlooked, were quite prolific in their "chosen" area, to the point that while surveying for them, I often had to avoid stepping on them as I worked my transect lines. In the short time I worked the area, I found over 500 plants.

This plant is a further reflection of how a special status plant can vary in nature. Unlike some of its cousin Astragalus', where it is often possible to actually count the number of individuals in the whole population, this species is quite prolific, but is highly limited to a small section of land. It is this limited range of habitat that makes this as a species of concern to the Bureau of Land Management. If something were to happen to the site where the species is found, then it could easily wipe out one of the few known populations. Because of this, the BLM does not allow utilization of the lands where this plant is found.

Tamarix chinensis

Salt Cedar - Tamarix chinensis

Tamaricacaea

Not all of the plants out in the Mojave are desirable. There are any number of noxious weeds and invasive species infecting the landscape. One of the most reviled is the salt cedar, or tamarisk. Brought in from Asia as a landscape and riparian stabilizing plant, this vegetative menace quickly spread out of control, clogging waterways and consuming vast quantities of water. This species is able to form monocultures, forcing out native species by out competing them for water, salinating the soil, and rapidly shading them out. A tamarisk plant grows at a prodigious rate, and will overtop most of its neighbors in short order. These plants are also hideously fecund, producing a storm of seedlings that can blanket an area. The one saving grace is that the seeds are very short lived, but given the number produced, their wind dispersal mechanism and the speed at which they are produced, means that with only a few surviving, they can quickly re-infest an area.

Removal of tamarisk is a high priority for the BLM in our area. We spend a good number of resources on removal and control. In some areas, we have managed to completely remove the plant, and the native vegetation is recovering nicely. Most of the actual removal requires the use of herbicides. However, the application method is so precise that there is virtually no outward contamination of the surrounding area. The plants are cut down, and a thin film of herbicide is painted onto the stump. Those that are small enough to be removed manually are pulled with the use of weed wrenches and good old elbow grease. The reason that simply mechanically removing all of the tamarisk is not practical is thus: they are root sprouting, so leaving one large chunk of the root in the ground will allow the plant to re-grow. This is why seedlings can be removed, since they haven't developed a strong enough system to come back, but larger trees need be poisoned, since they also produce prodigiously large roots. There have been some recent breakthroughs with biological control using a parasitic beetle, but until the technique is fully tested, herbicide is the only practical and viable option to get rid of this pest.

There are those that say we should not remove the tamarisk for various reasons. However, most of their arguments do not truly hold water when scrutinized with even basic logic or analysis. One of the most often sited is that tamarisk do not use more water than a tree of equivalent size. Yes, it is technically true that a salt cedar the same size as a willow is using the same amount of water. However, there are typically many many more tamarisk occupying an area than native vegetation would, and form monocultural stands where there is nothing but tamarisk. Not only that, but they will also recruit to areas that are too dry for the native species to hold, and still use the same volume of water. There are streams in parts of the desert where after tamarisk has been removed and native vegetation has returned, the creek will actually begin flowing again, where as when the tamarisk was present, it was completely dry.

Another of these arguments is that the salt cedar provides habitat for wildlife. Yes, it does, to a degree. When you look at the species diversity and health between salt cedar stands and equivalent stands of native vegetation, the health and diversity of the native stands are always greater. Many native species will use salt cedar because in many cases, they have no other choice. Either all of the good habitat has been taken up by other occupants, or there is nothing but salt cedar available.

Ultimately, the complete eradication of this species from our region is the best for our desert vegetative communities.

Fremontodendron californicum

California Flannelbush - Fremontodendron californicum

Sterculiaceae

Found up canyons and in washes, Fremont- odendron californicum is on of the Mojave's floral treats. Blooming in summer, it's flowers are strikingly yellow, which contrasts strongly with the deep, waxy green of the foliage. The flowers are unusual, in that the showy parts are not in fact petals, but sepals. In fact, the flowers are completely without petals. After pollination, the flowers turn into large, woody capsules, which are covered in stiff hairs. These hairs give the plant its common name, and provide a painful deterrent to any animal seeking to attack the seeds.

Flannel bush is a fire following species, pioneering areas that have been recently burned. Thus, it is a popular plant for reclamation in areas where it is naturally range, which consists of the majority of California. After fires, these plants will establish quickly, holding together the soil and protecting it.

Opuntia pulchella

Sand cactus - Opuntia pulchella

Cactaceae

Not all cactus are large, perennially apparent plants. In the case of Opuntia pulchella, the above ground portion of the plant is deciduous, and shed each year. In the fall, the plant will die back to a large underground rhizome, going dormant. In the spring, the stems will re-sprout, and produce a short, highly spiny hedge of stems. In late spring, early summer, the cactus will put on its flowers, which are an intense pink-purple.

O. pulchella has an unusual status in the California state BLM. Though unusual, and protected in multiple states, it is only considered a species of interest. This means, that while it is uncommon, it is not rare enough to warrant legal protection. There are many plants that fall into this category across the country, and while they are unusual, and rare in some cases, they are not under threat of becoming endangered or rare. Were that to happen, then the plant's status could change.

Astragalus ertterae

Walker pass milkvetch

Fabaceae

There are plants in the Mojave that have very wide distribution, and there are some that have extremely limited ones. One of the later, in fact, one of the most extreme cases, is the Walker Pass Milkvetch, a member of the pea family. The entire known, and confirmed population of this plant is limited to a handful of individuals located on one section of the Pacific Crest Trailnorth of Walker Pass. The original site records only showed 1 plant, but in recent years, there has been some recruitment, and now the population has exploded to 14 plants.

This extreme endemism is an example of how limited in distribution a plant species can be. And the fact that the entire population is located directly adjacent to a regularly traversed hiking trail may seem like a concern. However, the obscurity of the plant is its shield in this case. Yes, there may only be 14 of them, but most people are walking the PCT are not climbing the banks, which is where the plant grows. Still, like all rare plants, there is some degree of danger to it, since it has such a limited known distribution. In all likelihood, there are other populations, which have, thus far, not been identified.