Rock Nettle [Eucnide rupestris (Baill.) Thompson & Ernst]
Listing CNPS List 2 R-E-D Code 3-2-1
State/Federal. Status -- None LOASACEAE Dec.-Apr.
Global Rank G3 State Rank S2S3
Distribution: San Diego County, Imperial County; Arizona; Baja California, Mexico
Habitat: Sonoran Desert Scrub in rock or talus is the preferred habitat. Acid Igneous rock land is mapped for the Indian Gorge site.
Known Sites: This robust annual grows in rocky rubble at Indian Gorge; the only known location for San Diego County. An Imperial County collection is from Painted Gorge east of Ocotillo. An old biological survey report notes sites on the eastern slope of Carrizo Mountain, as well as near Mount Signal, Davies Valley, and Fossil Canyon. Shreve and Wiggins report this robust annual from near Coyote Wells in Imperial County, south to San Pablo in Baja California, and in the Pinacate Mountains of northwestern Sonora. A herbarium specimen was examined from Rancho Bonito in the La Abra Valley of Pima County, Arizona.
Twenty-five herbarium specimens from Baja California are found at the San Diego Natural History Museum, south to 27 15' North where collected by Moran (SD 66277) on San Marcos Island. Other specimens are from Tiburon Island and San Esteban Island.
Status: Little information is available on the Rock Nettle; it is presumed stable in its little developed desert habitat. The Indian Gorge locale in San Diego County is stable; more information is needed on similar rocky terrain in this region for possibly undiscovered populations. All populations should be protected.
Copyright © May 1994 Craig H. Reiser.