Coachella Canal Area
Resource Management Plan/
Environmental Assessment
98
Plants
Coachella Valley Milkvetch This Coachella Valley endemic species grows in
dunes and sand flats, along the disturbed margins of sandy washes, and in sandy
soils along roadsides in areas formerly occupied by undisturbed sand dunes.
Within the sand dunes and sand fields, this milkvetch tends to occur in the coarser
sands at the margins of dunes and not in the most active blow sand area
(Coachella Valley Associations of Governments, 2004). It is an annual/perennial
herb that blooms from February to May with an elevation range of 198-2160 feet
(60-655 meters). It is known from less than 20 locations in the Coachella Valley.
At one time, it occupied sand habitat in what is now Palm Springs and Palm
Desert. Its habitat was greatly reduced by urbanization. Part of the remaining
population is protected in the Coachella Valley Preserve System. The primary
threat to the Coachella Valley milkvetch is habitat destruction due to continuing
urban development, including the direct effects of habitat conversion and
OHV use.
Orocopia Sage This evergreen flowering shrub is endemic to eastern
slopes of the Coachella Valley in the Orocopia Mountains, Mecca Hills, and
Chocolate Mountains. This species is associated with desert dry wash
woodland and Sonoran creosote bush scrub and grows in gravelly or rocky soils
on alluvial fans. In desert washes and canyons, it may occur on alluvial terraces
and sandy or rocky benches elevated above the flood plain with an elevation
range of 132-2723 feet (40-825 meters). It blooms in March and April.
Orocopia sage is patchy in its distribution; but where it occurs, it is usually one of
the dominant members of the vegetation. During droughts, this plant may remain
dormant, without blooming and forming only sparse new shoots.
Much of its habitat is protected within the Mecca Hills, Orocopia Mountains, and
Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness Areas. However, some threat may exis