Plants

Big Bear Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains are home to

  • 36 endemic plant species
  • 37 ESA-listed species—21 are listed as threatened or endangered
  • 92 sensitive plant species

Our plant species live in one of three rare habitats – Pebble Plains, Mountain Meadows and Carbonate.

Here are some of the fascinating and most-seen plants in each of those habitats…

Pepple Plain Habitat

Kennedy’s Buckwheat Eriogonum kennedii var. austromontanum Threatened (federal)

Ash-Gray Indian Paintbrush Castilleja Cinerea Threatened (federal)

Douglas’s violet Viola douglasii

Douglas’s violet Viola douglasii

Fuzzy Rat-tail Ivesia argyrocoma Sensitive Species (federal)

Bear Valley Sandwort Arenaria ursine Threatened (federal)

Dwarf pussy-toes Antennaria dimorpha

Alpine Milkvetch Astragalus purshii

Parish’s rock-cress Arabis parishii Sensitive Species (federal)

Bitter-root Lewisia rediviva

Bitter-root Lewisia rediviva (grows the plant, which reabsorbs before flowers bloom)

Here is detailed information about one of our Pebble Plains: Moonridge

Montane Meadow Habitat

Bird-Footed Checkerbloom Sidalcea Pedata Endangered (federal, state)

Slender-petaled mustard Thelypodium stenopetalum Endangered (federal)

California Dandelion Taraxacum Californicum Endangered (federal)

San Bernardino Blue Grass Poa Atropurpurea Endangered (federal)

Lemon Lily Lilium parryi Sensitive species (federal)

Ocellated Humboldt Lily Lilium humboldtii var. ocellatum Sensitive species (federal)

Yellow Owl’s Clover Castilleja lasiorhynchus Sensitive Species (federal)

Carbonate Habitat

Cushenbury MilkVetch Astragalus albens Endangered (federal)

Parish’s Daisy Erigeron parishii Threatened (federal)

San Bernardino Mtns. Bladderpod Physaria kingii ssp. bernardina Endangered (federal) Especially vulnerable--Only known to exist in 2 small areas in Big Bear Valley

Cushenbury Buckwheat Eriogonum ovalifolium var. vineum Endangered (federal)

Cushenbury Buckwheat Eriogonum ovalifolium var. vineum -flowering Endangered (federal)

For more plants and additional information on the plants in our mountains, visit:
Heaps Creek Arboretum and California Native Plant Society