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Map Satellite Atop Mesa de Colorado, which is a Plio-Pleistocene basaltic intrusion in the surrounding earlier granitics, lie two vernal pools, one large, one small, but both important, as this habitat is becoming increasingly scarce in Southern California today. The dominant plants in the vernal pools are the spike-rushes Eleocharis macrostachya and Eleocharis . The flora shows the typical concentric ring pattern of the vernal pool. Among the more noteworthy species found here are Lilaea scilloides, Isoetes howellii, Isoetes orcuttii, Marsilea vestita, Pellaea mucronata, Myosurus minimus, Ranunculus spp., Downingia spp., and Plagiobothrys spp. Three rare species have been found here, Pilularia americana, the narrow endemic, Orcuttia californica, and Brodiaea filifolia. The soils in the area are of the Murrieta series. Integrity: The area is grazed by cattle. Use: Private Ref: Thorne, R. F. and E. W. Lathrop, 1969. A Vernal Marsh on the Santa Rosa Plateau of Riverside County, California. El Aliso Vol. 7, pp. 85-95. April 1976
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
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