present are the Coastal Sagebrush (Artemisia californica, Compos- 

 itae); Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum , Polygonaceae); 

 and Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis var. consanguinea — also 

 found in Northern Coastal Scrub). Larger species are the hand- 

 some Lemonadeberry {Rhus integrifolia, Anacardiaceae) and its 

 toxic relative, Poison Oak {R. diversilobd). 



Shadscale Scrub (Plate 14D;Map 3) 



Most herbaceous plant communities of California are best de- 

 veloped in cismontane northern California. Likewise, the Wood- 

 land (or Forest) communities also are more extensive in the 

 northern portion of the state (i.e., north of the Transverse Ranges) 

 than in the south. Examination of patterns of distribution of the 

 scrubland communities, however, indicates that these are better 

 developed in southern CaUfornia than in the northern part of 

 the state. The Shadscale Scrub plant community is named after 

 one of the dominant species, Shadscale. This is A triplex confer- 

 tifolia (Chenopodiaceae), an erect, rigidly branched, spiny shrub 

 with rather crowded, round leaves that resemble fish scales. 

 (Curiously, Munz and Keck do not list Shadscale as the common 

 name for this shrub, even though this name is widely used for 

 the shrub in much of the Great Basin and it gave its name to the 

 plant community in which it occurs.) Other members of this 

 desert plant community are Hop Sage (Grayia spinosa, Chenopo- 

 diaceae), Winter Fat (Eurotia lanata, Compositae), Spiny Sage- 

 brush (Artemisia spinescens, Compositae), matchweed (Gutier- 

 rezia spp., Compositae), Cheese Bush (Hymenoclea salsola, Com- 

 positae), Blackbush (Coelogyne ramosissima, Rosaceae), and the 

 pecuhar gymnospermous shrub, Mormon tea (Ephedra spp., 

 Ephedraceae). 



Despite the fact that the characteristic shrubs of Shadscale 

 Scrub belong to several plant families that are taxonomically un- 

 related, there is a strong superficial similarity among them. The 

 shrubs are rather small, seldom over half a meter tall. Generally, 

 they are grayish, small leaved, much branched, and sometimes 

 spiny, and produce smallish flowers. Shadscale Scrub occurs in 

 very heavy, often alkaline (pH 8 to 10) or saline soils that are 



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