California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately 7 million acres, including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Tetracoccus is a plant genus under the family Picrodendraceae. Shrubby-spurge is a common name for plants in this genus. They are dioecious, often hairy shrubs.
California's 48th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in San Diego County in Southern California. It is currently represented by Republican Darrell Issa.
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
The South Bay, also known as South County, is a region in southwestern San Diego County, California consisting of the cities and unincorporated communities of Bonita, Chula Vista, East Otay Mesa, Imperial Beach, Lincoln Acres, National City, and South San Diego.
The Otay River is a river in southern San Diego County, California. The 25 mi (40 km) river begins at San Miguel Mountain, flows through the Upper and Lower Otay Reservoirs, and continues on between the southern part of the Chula Vista and the Otay Mesa West district of San Diego, to its river mouth on San Diego Bay.
Acanthomintha duttonii is a species of annual plant endemic to San Mateo County, California in the family Lamiaceae. It is commonly called San Mateo thornmint and is found growing on serpentine soils near the Crystal Springs Reservoir in a six-mile (10 km) long strip on the east side of Montara Mountain at elevations of approximately 150 to 300 meters.
Lepechinia cardiophylla is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names Santa Ana pitcher sage and heart-leaved pitcher sage. A broad-leaved fragrant shrub, it has distinct pitcher-shaped flowers. It is native to the Peninsular Ranges and found in the Santa Ana Mountains of Southern California, a few locations in San Diego County, and some of the coastal mountains of northern Baja California. Few populations of the plant are known and many of them are located in areas that are threatened by development and other human activity.
Lepechinia ganderi is a rare species of perennial shrub in the mint family known by the common name San Diego pitcher sage or Gander's pitcher sage. An aromatic plant with white to lavender flowers, this species is only known from southern San Diego County in California and a small portion of Baja California, occurring on chaparral or coastal sage scrub in metavolcanic soils. Because of its limited range, it is under threat from growing urbanization and increased fire frequency.
Nolina interrata is a rare species of flowering plant known by the common names Dehesa nolina and Dehesa beargrass. It is known from about ten occurrences in central San Diego County, California, and fewer than 100 individual plants on land across the border in Baja California. The plant was first described in 1946 when found at the type locality near El Cajon, California, and all the individuals known in California are located within a six-square-mile area there. Although rare, numbering about 9,000 plants total in existence, the species is relatively well protected in its habitat and a proposal for federal protected status was withdrawn.
Rancho Jamul was a 8,926-acre (36.12 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County, California given in 1829 by Mexican Governor José María de Echeandía to Pío Pico. In 1831 Governor Manuel Victoria reconfirmed the grant to Pío Pico. The grant extended from present day Jamul southeast to Dulzura.
Salvia munzii is a semi-evergreen perennial species of sage known by the common name Munz's sage or San Miguel Mountain sage. It is native to northern Baja California, Mexico, and it can be found in a few locations just north of the border in San Diego County, California, where it is particularly rare. It is characterized by small leaves and clear blue flowers. It is a member of the coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities.
Clinopodium chandleri is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name San Miguel savory. It is native to northern Baja California and several areas of southern California, where it can be found in mountain chaparral. A fragrant plant with white flowers, it is one of southern California's rarest shrubs.
Ceanothus otayensis, the Otay Mountain buckbrush or Otay Mountain lilac, is a plant species known only from the Otay and San Miguel Mountains of San Diego County, California, and in nearby Baja California, Mexico. It occurs on dry slopes and brushlands at elevations of 600–1100 m.
The Otay Mountain Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in San Diego County, California, 12 miles east of the city of Otay Mesa and just north of the Mexican border. Some parts of the wilderness area rise quickly from sea level, reaching a peak of just over 3,500 feet (1,100 m) at the summit of Otay Mountain.
Hollenbeck Canyon Wildlife Area is located near Jamul and Dulzura in California. The former cattle ranch was designated a wildlife area in 2001, and forms a wildlife corridor between Otay Mountain Wilderness and Jamul Mountains under the protection of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The approximately 6,100-acre area is open to the public for activities including hunting, equestrian use, hiking, mountain-biking, and (hunting) dog training.
Dicranostegia is a monotypic genus of hemiparasitic flowering plants belonging to the family Orobanchaceae, containing the species Dicranostegia orcuttiana, commonly known as Orcutt's bird's beak or Baja bird's beak. It is near-endemic to Baja California, found from Miller's Landing north to Tijuana, but has a few occurrences in southern San Diego County, California. It is differentiated among other similar species in California by its leaves with 8 to 11 lateral lobes that are paired. It was formerly placed in the genus Cordylanthus until phylogenetic analysis led to it being split off. This species is threatened by the destruction of its habitat from urbanization.
Dudleya rigida is a species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae known commonly as the La Laguna liveforever. Characterized by a tall inflorescence with pendant yellowish-red flowers, it is a very rare plant whose existence was doubtful until botanist Reid Moran accidentally re-discovered it. It is endemic to the Sierra de la Laguna in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Acanthomintha ilicifolia, known by the common name San Diego thornmint, is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is native to Baja California and San Diego County, California, where it is a resident of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities and vernal pools.
The Cerro Bola is a coastal metavolcanic mountain formation in northwestern Baja California. The Cerro Bola, along with the nearby mountain Cerro Gordo form the highest elevation areas of Tijuana Municipality. Because of its prominence, the transmitters for television station XHDTV and radio station XHPRS-FM are located on the summit of Cerro Bola, which reaches an elevation of 1,260 m (4,130 ft). It is located approximately 35 km (22 mi) south of the Tecate border crossing, and sits at the southwest end of the Valle de Las Palmas. The mountain range is host to a number of rare and endemic plant species, such as Arctostaphylos bolensis and Ceanothus bolensis.
