An open woodland with Yucca brevifolia usually as the only arborescent species (to 12m high) and numerous shrub species between 1 and 4m tall. Little or no herbaceous understory during most of the year. The dominant species display a diversity of life forms; sclerophyllous evergreen trees and shrubs (Yucca spp.), microphyllous evergreen shrubs (Juniperus spp.), semideciduous shrubs (Eriogonum, Tetradymia), semisucculents (Lycium spp.), and succulents (Opuntia spp.). The main growing season is spring, with most growth limited by cold in winter and drought in summer and fall. Many species of ephemeral herbs may germinate following sufficient late fall or winter rains and flower in mid-spring.
SITE FACTORS:
Typically on sandy, loamy, or gravelly,
well-drained gentle alluvial slopes. Transitional climatologically
and biologically between low and high elevations with Mojave Creosote
Bush Scrub (34100)
(poorer soil drainage, colder
winters from cold air drainage). At higher elevations, intergrades
with Mojavean Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (72200)
(cooler and moister, but better drained).
DISTRIBUTION:
Desert slopes of the Southern Sierra
Nevada, Tehachapi, and Transverse Ranges of Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles,
San Bernardino, and northern Riverside counties. Eastward across
the Mojave Desert to southwestern Utah, mostly on the slopes of
mountains and mesas. Extensive stands in the vicinity of Halloran
Summit and Mountain Pass in northeastern San Bernardino County.
One extensive stand west of the Sierran crest on the watershed
of the South Fork of Kern River. Elevation from 2,500-5,000 feet
(766-1520m.) Many of the characteristic species (but not Yucca
brevifolia) occur southward into San Diego County and northern
Baja California, on the desert slopes of the Peninsular Ranges.
UPDATE:
10/86
Source:
Holland, 1986
Digital Text: NatureBase