Dwarf shrubs, 0.2-0.5m tall, with crowns touching or more open. Growth occurs mainly form early to mid-summer, flowering mid to late summer. Dormant in fall, winter, and early spring due to cold.
SITE FACTORS:
Similar to Big Sagebrush Scrub (35210), with which it intergrades, but higher and colder. Usually on coarse, well-drained gravelly soils that often are carbonate-rich. These carbonates may form a hardpan 20-40cm below the soil surface, making this droughty site due to low water holding capacity. Same elevation as Subalpine Coniferous Forest (86000), but drier and often windswept.
DISTRIBUTION:
East of the Sierra Nevada crest in Mono and Inyo counties. Generally between 6000 and 11000 feet (2420 and 3330m). Especially well-developed in the White and Inyo mountains.
UPDATE 10/86
Source: Holland, 1986
Digital Text: NatureBase