$5.00 (Free to Members) VOL. 42, NO. 1 • JANUARY 2014 FREMONTIA JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY CALIFORNIA’SVOL. 42, NO. 1, JANUARY DESERTS, 2014 PARTPART 1:1: BIOLOGYBIOLOGY ANDAND FREMONTIA ECOLOGYECOLOGY CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY CNPS, 2707 K Street, Suite 1; Sacramento, CA 95816-5130 FREMONTIA Phone: (916) 447-CNPS (2677) Fax: (916) 447-2727 Web site: www.cnps.org Email: [email protected] VOL. 42, NO. 1, JANUARY 2014 Copyright © 2014 MEMBERSHIP Membership form located on inside back cover; California Native Plant Society dues include subscriptions to Fremontia and the CNPS Bulletin Bob Hass, Editor Mariposa Lily . $1,500 Family or Group . $75 Kara Moore, Managing Editor Benefactor . $600 International or Library . $75 James M. André, Patrick McIntyre, Patron . $300 Individual . $45 Advisors Plant Lover . $100 Student/Retired/Limited Income . $25 Beth Hansen-Winter, Designer CORPORATE/ORGANIZATIONAL Brad Jenkins, Cynthia Powell, and 10+ Employees . $2,500 4-6 Employees . $500 Mary Ann Showers, Proofreaders 7-10 Employees . $1,000 1-3 Employees . $150 CALIFORNIA NATIVE STAFF – SACRAMENTO CHAPTER COUNCIL PLANT SOCIETY Executive Director: Dan Gluesenkamp David Magney (Chair); Larry Levine Finance and Administration (Vice Chair); Marty Foltyn (Secretary) Dedicated to the Preservation of Manager: Cari Porter Alta Peak (Tulare): Joan Stewart Membership and Development the California Native Flora Bristlecone (Inyo-Mono): Coordinator: Stacey Flowerdew Steve McLaughlin The California Native Plant Society Conservation Program Director: (CNPS) is a statewide nonprofit organi- Greg Suba Channel Islands: David Magney zation dedicated to increasing the Rare Plant Botanist: Aaron Sims Dorothy King Young (Mendocino/ Sonoma Coast): Nancy Morin understanding and appreciation of Vegetation Program Director: East Bay: Bill Hunt California’s native plants, and to pre- Julie Evens Vegetation Ecologists: El Dorado: Sue Britting serving them and their natural habitats Kern County: Dorie Giragosian for future generations. Jennifer Buck-Diaz, Kendra Sikes Education Program Director: Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mtns: CNPS carries out its mission through Josie Crawford Betsey Landis science, conservation advocacy, educa- Horticulture Program Director: Marin County: Carolyn Longstreth tion, and horticulture at the local, state, Susan Krzywicki Milo Baker (Sonoma County): and federal levels. It monitors rare and Administrative Asst: Marcy Millett Lisa Giambastiani endangered plants and habitats; acts to Mojave Desert: Tim Thomas STAFF – AT LARGE save endangered areas through public- Monterey Bay: Brian LeNeve ity, persuasion, and on occasion, legal Fremontia and CNPS Bulletin Editor: Mount Lassen: Catie Bishop Bob Hass action; provides expert testimony to Napa Valley: Gerald Tomboc Legislative Consultant: government bodies; supports the estab- North Coast: Larry Levine Vern Goehring North San Joaquin: Alan Miller lishment of native plant preserves; spon- East Bay Conservation Analyst: Orange County: Nancy Heuler sors workdays to remove invasive plants; Mack Casterman Redbud (Grass Valley/Auburn): and offers a range of educational activi- Development Consultant: ties including speaker programs, field Sandy McCoy Joan Jernegan trips, native plant sales, horticultural Website Coordinator: Mark Naftzger Riverside/San Bernardino: Katie Barrows workshops, and demonstration gardens. PROGRAM ADVISORS Sacramento Valley: Glen Holstein Since its founding in 1965, the tradi- Rare Plant Program Senior Advisor: San Diego: David Varner tional strength of CNPS has been its Jim André San Gabriel Mountains: Orchid Black dedicated volunteers. CNPS activities Vegetation Program Senior Advisor: San Luis Obispo: Kristie Haydu are organized at the local chapter level Todd Keeler-Wolf Sanhedrin (Ukiah): Geri Hulse- where members’ varied interests influ- CNPS Press Director: Stephens ence what is done. Volunteers from the Nancy Morin Santa Clara Valley: Judy Fenerty 33 CNPS chapters annually contribute Poster Program: Bertha McKinley, Santa Cruz County: Deanna Giuliano in excess of 97,000 hours (equivalent Wilma Follett Sequoia (Fresno): Paul Mitchell to 46.5 full-time employees). BOARD OF DIRECTORS Shasta: Ken Kilborn CNPS membership is open to all. Laura Camp (President); David Bigham Sierra Foothills (Tuolome/Calaveras/ Members receive the journal Fremontia (Vice President); Carolyn Longstreth Mariposa): Robert Brown three times a year, the quarterly state- (Secretary); Nancy Morin (Treasurer); South Coast (Palos Verdes): David Berman wide CNPS Bulletin, and newsletters At-Large: Kristie Haydu, Bill Hunt, from their local CNPS chapter. Tahoe: Brett Hall Gordon Leppig, David Varner, Michael Willis L. Jepson (Solano): Vasey, Steve Windhager; Chapter Mary Frances Kelly-Poh Disclaimer: Council Representatives: Orchid Black, Yerba Buena (San Francisco): The views expressed by authors published Glen Holstein Ellen Edelson in this journal do not necessarily reflect established policy or procedure of CNPS, MATERIALS FOR PUBLICATION and their publication in this journal should CNPS members and others are welcome to contribute materials for publication not be interpreted as an organizational in Fremontia. See the inside back cover for submission instructions. endorsement—in part or in whole—of Staff and board listings are as of January 2014. their ideas, statements, or opinions. Printed by Lithtex NW: www.lithtexnw.com FREMONTIA VOL. 42, NO. 1, JANUARY 2014 CONTENTS EDITORIAL by Kara Moore ...................................................................................... 2 FLORISTIC DIVERSITY AND DISCOVERY IN THE CALIFORNIA DESERT by James M. André ......................................................................................... 3 The California desert flora is surprisingly diverse and a hotbed for taxonomic discovery. Looming impacts, however, pose a major threat to this unparalleled floristic frontier. RARE PLANT DIVERSITY IN THE CALIFORNIA DESERTS: PRIORITIES FOR RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION Kara A. Moore and James M. André ......... 9 Many of California’s rare and unique desert plants are at risk, and research on their biology and distribution is urgently needed to fuel effective conservation strategies in our rapidly changing deserts. APPLYING SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MODELING TO IDENTIFY RARE SPECIES HOT SPOTS by Patrick McIntyre ............................................................ 15 How researchers are using predictive mapping tools to understand plant diversity in California’s deserts. THE CASTLE MOUNTAINS: A HOTSPOT OF DESERT PLANT DIVERSITY by Duncan Bell .................................. 17 Recent explorations of the Castle Mountains in the Eastern Mojave show that they are rich in botanical diversity. MICROBIOTIC SOIL CRUST COMMUNITIES: A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF CALIFORNIA’S DESERTS by Nicole Pietrasiak and Jeffrey R. Johansen ...... 18 Microbiotic soil crusts are in dire need of conservation because they are essential to desert ecosystems and harbor unexplored biodiversity. DESERT STREAMS: AN INNOVATIVE NEW APPROACH TO THEIR INVENTORY AND MAPPING by Carolyn Chainey-Davis ............................... 20 A new science-based method for mapping California’s episodic desert streams incor- porates an understanding of their unique physical forms and processes where other methods have failed. THE ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF WASHES TO DESERT BIRDS by Andrea Jones and Garry George ....... 24 Audubon Society staff share a brief summary of the importance of perennial desert streams and microphyll woodlands to migratory songbirds and other bird species in Southern California. JOHN O. SAWYER, JR.: 1939–2012 by James P. Smith, Jr. ..........................25 BOOK REVIEWS ........................................................................................27 THE COVER: Sunrise on the east side of the Granite Mountains in the Mojave National Preserve. In the foreground is a skeleton of buckthorn cholla (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa) and cinchweed (Pectis papposa var. papposa). September 2013. Photograph courtesy of Stephen Ingram, www.ingramphoto.com. VOL. 42, NO. 1, JANUARY 2014 FREMONTIA 1 The first winter storm of the season on Clark Mountain, October 2013. Hidden beyond the mountain lies Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Facility, covering over 4,000 acres of former desert wilderness. It is expected to power approximately 140,000 homes when it goes on the grid later this year. Photograph by Kara A. Moore. EDITORIAL by Kara A. Moore his is a momentous time to focus trients cycle. Deserts are rich and di- fornia deserts. Then we focus on the the lens of Fremontia on the verse landscapes in which we can ob- incredible taxonomic diversity of TMojave and Sonoran Deserts. We serve the great drama of nature’s cycles. plants in general and on the biology of teeter on the brink of vast changes in They invite adventurous exploration rare plant species. We also emphasize the North American deserts as we by our city- and computer-trained eyes the impact that periodic water has in expand our cities, roads, recreational as they meet the wild horizon. shaping desert ecosystems. activities, and energy generation into On my first trip across the Mojave The second Mojave and Sonoran one of the largest remaining frontiers and Sonoran Deserts from forested Deserts issue, slated for distribution in on the continent. Policymakers and Michigan, I was struck by the heat and May of 2014, will cover a broad range land managers are embroiled in par- by the expansive landscapes