USDA Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers

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Stark Beauty: Klamath-Siskiyou Serpentines


What plants and animals can you find on the Klamath-Siskiyou Serpentines? Select the plants and animals above to find out. Art and design by Steve Buchanan. Download PDF Version, 1.9 MB.

Stark and toxic, diverse and rare, serpentines are a land of contrasts. Formed within the earth's mantle, serpentine rocks found their way to the surface. On serpentine soils, a unique flora evolved especially adapted to survive the severe hardships of drought, heavy metals, and nutrient stress. Complex islands of endemism and rarity developed in isolated plant communities on the severe landscapes.

The Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains of northwest California and southwest Oregon are the largest serpentine area in North America. Celebrating Wildflowers features the unique plant communities on the National Forests of the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains. Discover sub-alpine communities, Jeffrey pine woodlands, and Darlingtonia wetlands. Learn how we are conserving these communities. Enjoy the stark beauty of the serpentines.

USGS plate tectonics graphicGeology
Where the Earth's crust collides, serpentine is born

Mt. Eddy of the Klamath-Siskiyou MountainsSerpentine Soils and Plant Adaptations

Silene serpentinicolaA Center of Diversity, Endemism, and Rarity

Raillardella habitatPlant Communities
From Woodland to Wetland: The Diversity of Serpentine Plant Communities

Jeffrey pine savannah.Conservation
Conserving the Botanical Richness of Serpentine Communities

Darlingtonia californicaMore Information
Related links and publications

U.S. Forest Service
Rangeland Management
Botany Program
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Mailstop Code: 1103
Washington DC 20250-1103

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Location: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/communities/serpentines/index.shtml
Last modified: Wednesday, 03-Dec-2008 13:55:13 EST