This was my first botanical excursion of the year and I was quite excited to be getting back into Southern California flora after a couple of months of dealing with the flora of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The road into Clark Valley to Butler and Rockhouse Canyons goes from the S-22 near Pegleg Smith Monument, crosses Clark Dry Lake and then winds back along the general course of the San Jacinto Fault for about eight miles, passing the trailhead for the Alcoholic Pass Trail which comes over the Coyote Mountains. Built by the U.S. Army in the 1940's, the road is normally quite passable for 2WD vehicles, but is sandy in places. Thanks to some good Nov/Dec rains, there are perennials blooming and annuals germinating, but unless there is more rain soon, this year's display here will be minimal. The first three species below were at the Visitor Center where there is irrigation, and the next three were at Clark Dry Lake. All the others were either in Butler Canyon or along the road leading up to the mouth of the canyon. Some of these pictures are intended to show what the species look like at the very beginning of their lives. An asterisk next to the common name indicates a non-native species.

Brittlebush
Encelia farinosa
Asteraceae
[Named for Christoph Entzelt, 1517-1583]

Orcutt's woody-aster
Xylorhiza orcuttii
Asteraceae
[Named for Charles Russell Orcutt, 1864-1929]

cf. Curvenut pectocarya
Pectocarya recurvata
Boraginaceae

Rush seepweed
Suaeda nigra
Chenopodiaceae

Rush milkweed
Asclepias subulata
Asclepiadaceae

Chuparosa
Justicia californica
Acanthaceae
[Named for James Justice, 1698-1763]

Thick-leaved ground cherry
Physalis crassifolia
Solanaceae

Peirson's brown-eyed primrose
Camissonia claviformis var. peirsonii
Onagraceae
[Named for Frank Warrington Peirson, 1865-1951]

California suncup
Camissonia californica
Onagraceae
[Named for Ludolf Karl Adelbert von Chamisso, 1781-1838]

Desert lavender
Hyptis emoryi
Lamiaceae

Jumping cholla Cylindropuntia bigelovii Cactaceae [Named for John Milton Bigelow, 1804-1878]

Beavertail cactus Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris Cactaceae