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SsSagebrush Scrub / Steppe

This high elevation desert plant community is found on north and eastern exposures of the Sierra Nevada along the Nevada/Oregon border. Generally dominated by shrubs, occasional juniper and pine trees dot the landscape and cling to what little moisture falls in the rain shadow of the mighty Sierra Nevada.

 

Common Plants of the Sagebrush Scrub / Steppe
   
Associated & Transition Trees Dominant Shrubs, Perennials, Grasses & Annuals
   
Crataegus douglasiana, Western Thorn Apple Artemisia arbuscula, Little Sagebrush
Cercocarpus betuloides, Mountain Mahogany Artemisia nova, Black Sagebrush
Juniperus occidentalis, Western Juniper Artemisia tridentata, Big Sagebrush
Pinus monophylla, Singleleaf Piñon Pine Cercocarpus ledifolius, Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany
Pinus ponderosa, Ponderosa Pine Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Rabbitbrush
Populus trichocarpa, Black Cottonwood Festuca idahoensis, Idaho Fescue
  Purshia tridentata, Antelope Tridentata
  Ribes aureum, Gooseberry
 

Tetradymia canescens, Horsebrush
   
   
 

Note: The above lists note some species found in sagebrush scrub / steppe communities locatated throughout the state. A combination of these plants, not necessarily all, will constitute the dominant plant material in this specific plant community. This information is intended to be a primer on the plant communites in California.  View this article for information on references and further reading. 

 

Designates plant occurs in Riparian area.

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Plant Communitiy Photos

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