Laguna Mountains Alum-Root [Heuchera brevistaminea Wiggins]
Listing CNPS List 1B R-E-D Code 3-1-3
State/Federal. Status -- /C3c SAXIFRAGACEAE May-Jul.
Global Rank G2 State Rank S2.2
Distribution: San Diego County
Habitat: Rocky outcrops in montane chaparral are the habitat for this alum root. Metamorphic rock lands are mapped for the Oasis Springs site. Plants here cling to steep rocky faces where they are wedged into crevices, or perched on precarious exposed slabs where they are unlikely to be impacted by herbivores.
Known Sites: This herbaceous perennial is typically well protected, growing in precarious rocky locations near Garnet Peak, Oasis Spring, and Mount Laguna. It is also found on Cuyamaca Peak below the summit. It has been reported from Monument Peak and near Oriflamme and Potrero Canyons not far to the east of Sunrise Highway. A Data Base report notes a nearby site in a rocky canyon 0.5 mile below Vallecitos Viewpoint in the Laguna Mountains (possibly Cottonwood Canyon). A population of alum-root growing on rock near the saddle between Santa Rosa Peak and Toro Peak in western Riverside County had short stamens on the few flowers which had as yet bloomed, and these plants may represent a heretofor unknown northern range extension of the Laguna Mountains Alum-root; more collections are needed.
Status: Laguna Mountains Alum-Root is stable in San Diego County and likely endangered only by plant collectors. All populations should be protected.
Copyright © May 1994 Craig H. Reiser.