Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve

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         (104 plants)
Thanks to Calflora.org and the California State Parks for this list.

    
Alkali Buttercup
Ranunculus cymbalaria
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Yellow flower with a green center
  • 5 - 8 petals
  • Mostly basal leaves, sometimes with smaller ones up the stem.
  • Found in wetlands
  • CA native



Buttercup flower with 5-8 petals. The central area becomes a cylinder of tiny fruits.

Leaves vary in shape and are sometimes notched. They're larger near the base of the plant.

Found in wet areas, often in dense patches. Often grows low to the ground but can grow erect to over 1 foot tall.
Annual Psathyrotes
Psathyrotes annua
  • CA Bloom Apr - Oct
  • Yellow flower, sometimes reddish purple.
  • Very hairy.
  • Grows low to the ground.
  • Found in alkali soil, often in deserts
  • CA native



In the aster family, many tiny flowers are surrounded by a set of pale hairy phyllaries.

Flower are sometimes reddish purple.

Leaves create a low mounded cushion. They're quite hairy, which gives the plant a pale appearance.
Beardless Wild Rye
Elymus triticoides


This rye has 2-ranked spikelets that connect directly to the stem. There is space between each alternating spikelet.

Hollow stems (like straws) connect at solid joints. Leaves are about 1/4" wide and a foot long.

Prominent blue-green leaves are 4-12" long and grow away from the stem. Found in moist habitats with heavy soils.
Bigelow Mimulus
Diplacus bigelovii
  • CA Bloom Feb - Jun
  • Five magenta petals, wide at the tip.
  • Grows from 2 to 10 inches tall, often with the flowers nestling in a bed of leaves.
  • Found in the desert and on slopes
  • CA native



Flower is over 1" wide with a yellow and purple center.

Flower tube is long, surrounded by hairy sepals at the base.

Leaves are oval-shaped, about 1 inch long, and opposite. This plant grows from 2" to 10" tall.
Bitterbrush
Purshia tridentata
  • Height 1 - 12 ft.
  • CA Bloom Feb - Mar
  • This woody shrub associates with sagebrush, and varies from under a foot to many feet tall.
  • During the summer, its profusion of yellow flowers makes it stand out.
  • Flowers turn into pointy fruits, under 1 inch long.
  • CA native



Yellow flowers are about 1 inch accross, with 5 separate petals and many stamens.

Leaves often have 3 "fingers" or teeth, thus "tridentata".

Bitterbrush colors sagebrush areas yellow with its flowers in the summer.
Black Cottonwood
Populus trichocarpa
  • CA Bloom Feb - Apr
  • A large riparian tree with alternate leaves
  • Leaf stems are round (Fremont Cottonwood's is flattened).
  • Widely distributed in California, except the central valley.
  • CA native



Leaf tops are glossy dark-green. Undersides are pale. Leaves are long and pointed, with small teeth on the edge.

Alternating secondary veins connect to a central one.

Grows near running water. Trunks get very large, and the tree height often exceeds 100 feet.
Black Medick
Medicago lupulina
  • Height 6 in. - 2 ft.
  • CA Bloom Jun - Aug
  • Yellow clover-like flower
  • Compound leaves in groups of 3s - hairy, with short petioles.
  • Found in disturbed areas with good drainage. Widely distributed around the world.
  • Not CA native



Leaves are grouped in 3s, with short petioles. Leaflets are toothed towards the tip and end in a short point.

Yellow pea-shaped flowers clustered like a clover.

Stem is quite thin, and grows along the ground when the plant is young. Fruit develops into a hard, black, oval pod.
Bog Orchid
Platanthera sparsiflora
  • CA Bloom May - Sep
  • Orchid-shaped flowers.
  • Alternate, narrow, pointed leaves with parallel veins.
  • Found in forests and meadows, often near streams.
  • CA native



Green flower. Complex orchid shape.

Note the spur that sticks out behind the blossom.

Spike of green orchid flowers grow up to 2 feet tall, above 6" narrow, pointed leaves near the bottom of the plant.
Booth's Sun Cup
Eremothera boothii
  • CA Bloom May - Aug
  • Brown, pink, white flower
  • Four petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Buffalo Berry
    Shepherdia argentea
    • CA Bloom May - Jun
    • Small yellow flowers with 4 separate "petals" bunch at the end of short side branches.
    • Leaves are deciduous, wider toward the tip than near the stem.
    • Found near water.
    • CA native



    White flowers and red berries on short, thorny side branches.

    Opposite leaves about 2 inches long, covered in fine hairs that make them look pale.

    Deciduous in the winter. Thorny branches often form a thicket. Typically grows to 14 feet tall.
    Bull Thistle
    Cirsium vulgare
    • CA Bloom June - Sept
    • This thistle has spiny everything.
    • A pear-shaped spiny base supports a 2-inch-tall purple flower.
    • Dead flowers with many spines stay on the plant for a long time.
    • Bull Thistle is common in disturbed areas.
    • Not CA native.
    • Moderately Invasive


    A fairly thin pear-shaped spiny bulge below flower is a good way to distinguish this species.

    Bull Thistle has big spines all the way up the stem, on the leaves, and around the flower.

    Here is a basal rosette of thick, toothed leaves.
    Catclaw Horsebrush
    Tetradymia axillaris
  • CA Bloom Apr - May
  • Yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Chairmaker's Bulrush
    Schoenoplectus americanus
  • Flower
  • Coastal salt-marsh freshwater-marsh
  • CA native




  • Common Bog Rush
    Juncus effusus


    Yellow-brown flowers appear at the top of the stem, with a stem-like bract proceeding above it. The stem is grooved, the bract is not.

    Brown leaf sheaths grow at the base of stem, but create no leaf blades.

    This rather tall rush is found on lake shores, wet pastures. Some subspecies are native, others weedy.
    Common Dandelion
    Taraxacum officinale
    • CA Bloom Feb - Mar
    • Dandelion comes from the French phrase "dent de lion", which means lion's tooth - a reference to its jagged leaves.
    • Each flowerhead gets a bare stalk, less than a foot tall.
    • Not hairy.
    • Disturbed areas.
    • Not CA native



    Here's the yellow dandelion head we all know. Below are green phyllaries that point downward.

    Leaves have irregular, backwards-pointing lobes.

    Brown fruits are attached to a white oval receptacle at one end and grow a white beak at the other end. The beak attaches to many bristles, forming a parachute that carries the seed when it's mature.
    Common Sagebrush
    Artemisia tridentata
  • CA Bloom Jul - Aug
  • Brown flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • Slopes
  • CA native




  • Coville's Orach
    Stutzia covillei
  • CA Bloom Mar - May
  • Green flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Creeping Velvetgrass
    Holcus mollis
  • CA Bloom Jun - Aug
  • Not CA native




  • Curly Dock
    Rumex crispus
  • CA Bloom Jan - Dec
  • Green, white flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • Disturbed
  • Not CA native
  • Somewhat Invasive




  • Cut Leaved Water Parsnip
    Berula erecta
  • CA Bloom Jul - Aug
  • White flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Dark Green Goosefoot
    Chenopodium atrovirens
  • CA Bloom Jul - Sep
  • Brown, green, pink flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Desert Mountainmahogany
    Cercocarpus ledifolius
  • CA Bloom Feb - Mar
  • Pink, red, yellow flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • Slopes
  • CA native




  • Desert Peach
    Prunus andersonii
  • CA Bloom Mar - Jun
  • Pink, violet flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Douglas Sedge
    Carex douglasii
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Slopes
  • CA native




  • Downy Chess
    Bromus tectorum
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Disturbed
  • Not CA native
  • Highly Invasive




  • Fewleaf Bee Plant
    Carsonia sparsifolia
  • CA Bloom May - Aug
  • Yellow flower
  • Four, irreg petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Field Sedge
    Carex praegracilis


    The inflorescence is short and dense, with separate male and female florets in the same cluster.

    Male flowers protrude from their protective scales. Female flowers hide inside brown scales except at maturity.

    Leaves are long, narrow, and either flat or V-shaped. Praegracilis is Latin for "very slender".
    Five Horn Bassia
    Bassia hyssopifolia
  • CA Bloom Jun - Jul
  • Green flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • Disturbed
  • Not CA native
  • Somewhat Invasive




  • Fowl Bluegrass
    Poa palustris
  • CA Bloom Apr - May
  • Meadows
  • Not CA native




  • Fox Tail Barley
    Hordeum jubatum
  • CA Bloom May - Jul
  • CA native




  • Fremont's Goosefoot
    Chenopodium fremontii
  • CA Bloom Jun - Oct
  • Green flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Giant Blazingstar
    Mentzelia laevicaulis
  • CA Bloom Aug - Oct
  • Yellow flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate, basal leaves
  • CA native




  • Golden Dock
    Rumex fueginus
  • CA Bloom May - Aug
  • Green, yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • Coastal salt-marsh freshwater-marsh
  • CA native




  • Granite Prickly Phlox
    Linanthus pungens
  • CA Bloom Jun - Sep
  • Pink, white flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate, opposite leaves
  • CA native




  • Grayswamp Whiteheads
    Angelica capitellata
  • Flower
  • Green, white flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Greasewood
    Sarcobatus vermiculatus
  • CA Bloom Mar - May
  • Green, pink, yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Great Basin Bulrush
    Amphiscirpus nevadensis
  • Flower
  • CA native




  • Great Basin Popcorn Flower
    Amsinckiopsis kingii
  • CA Bloom May - Jul
  • White flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Great Basin Wild Rye
    Elymus cinereus
  • CA Bloom Jun - Aug
  • CA native




  • Green Ephedra
    Ephedra viridis
  • CA Bloom Apr - May
  • Orange, yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Opposite leaves
  • CA native




  • Green Rabbitbrush
    Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus
  • CA Bloom Aug - Oct
  • Yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Herb Sophia
    Descurainia sophia
  • CA Bloom May - Aug
  • Yellow flower
  • Four petals
  • Alternate, basal leaves
  • Disturbed
  • Not CA native
  • Somewhat Invasive




  • Hoary Aster
    Dieteria canescens
  • CA Bloom Jul - Oct
  • Violet flower
  • Many petals
  • Alternate, basal leaves
  • CA native




  • Hop Sage
    Grayia spinosa
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Green, orange, pink, yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Interior Rose
    Rosa woodsii ssp. ultramontana
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Pink flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Jeffrey Pine
    Pinus jeffreyi
    • CA Bloom May - Jun
    • Needles in groups of 3, are 5 to 10 inches long.
    • Bark in large vertical plates, smells of vanilla.
    • A beehive-shaped cone, 5 to 12 inches long, with prickles pointing inward.
    • CA native



    Cone grows to 12 inches long, with prickles on each scale pointing inward (Gentle Jeffrey) Ponderosa Pine's prickles point out.

    Bark in large vertical plates. Smells like vanilla. Turns reddish brown with age.

    Needles last 5 to 8 years, so you see foliage along the branches. Ponderosa lasts only two years, so tends to be towards the end of branches.
    Lemmon's Alkali Grass
    Puccinellia lemmonii
  • CA Bloom May - Aug
  • CA native




  • Lesser Panicled Sedge
    Carex diandra
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Meadows
  • CA native




  • Little Leaf Horsebrush
    Tetradymia glabrata
  • CA Bloom Aug - Sep
  • Yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Little Paintbrush
    Castilleja minor
  • CA Bloom Jul - Sep
  • Orange, red, yellow flower
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Long Anthered Rush
    Juncus macrandrus
  • Flower
  • CA native




  • Mono Buckwheat
    Eriogonum ampullaceum
    • CA Bloom Jul - Sep
    • Small cream colored flowers with red accents.
    • Found in sandy soil in the high desert.
    • CA native



    Flowers are white with red parts. They cluster closely together next to the stem.

    Leaves are basal, rounded, and wooly, up to 1 inch wide.

    Grows to about 2 feet tall. Stem is not hairy.
    Montevideo Spike Rush
    Eleocharis montevidensis


    30 to 100 dark scales form a dense spike of bisexual spikelets less than 1/2" long at the top of the stem. A green bract extends beyond the spikelet cluster.

    Hidden behind the scales are bisexual flowers. The base of the female style has a bump on it called a tubercle.

    This spike rush is a sedge, not a rush. Leaves are dark sheaths only - there are no leaf blades. Unlike most sedges, stems of this species are oval, not triangular.
    Narrowleaf Willow
    Salix exigua
  • CA Bloom Feb - Mar
  • Tiny petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Nebraska Sedge
    Carex nebrascensis
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Meadows
  • CA native




  • Needle-And-Thread
    Stipa comata
  • CA Bloom May - Jul
  • CA native




  • Nevada Blue Eyed Grass
    Sisyrinchium halophilum
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • Blue, violet flower
  • Six petals
  • Basal leaves
  • CA native




  • Nuttall's Alkali Grass
    Puccinellia nuttalliana
  • CA Bloom May - Jun
  • CA native




  • Nuttall's Coldenia
    Tiquilia nuttallii
  • CA Bloom May - Aug
  • Pink, white flower
  • Five petals
  • Alternate leaves
  • CA native




  • Pale Spike Rush
    Eleocharis macrostachya


    This Spike Rush is a sedge, not a rush. It has erect, bright green, round stems and no leaf blades.

    A single spikelet, about 1" tall, appears at the top of each stem, containing 30-80 florets, each covered by a protective scale.

    This is a common sedge in fresh or brackish wetlands.