A Vascular Flora of the Nopah Range, Inyo County, California
The Nopah Range is an arid mountain range of the northern Mojave Desert located just east of Death Valley National Park in southeastern Inyo County, California. The study site is ca. 490 sq. km (189 sq. mi), with elevations ranging from 234 m (767 ft) to 1,949 m (6,394 ft) and includes the Nopah Range as well as portions of the California, Chicago, and Pahrump valleys. The objective of the study was to complete a specimen-based inventory of the vascular plants resulting in the production of an annotated checklist, and to assess the status of rare plant species and possible edaphic endemics within the study area. Between 2018 and 2022, 73 days were spent in the field resulting in 1,201 vascular plant collections. The checklist incorporates both historical collections and those collected during the study, documenting 60 families, 198 genera, and 365 minimum-rank vascular plant taxa present in the study area. Twenty-nine minimum-rank taxa are listed as rare in California and 32 appear to have edaphic affinities, mainly to the abundant carbonate substrates present in the Nopah Range such as limestone and dolomite.
botany, California, dolomite, floristics, Mojave, Nopah Range
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