Redshank Chaparral

Background

Description and distribution  Description and distribution. Redshank chaparral is the third chaparral type in the Plan area. This community is similar to chamise chaparral, but typically taller, 2 - 4 meters, and somewhat more open, often forming nearly pure stands of redshank (Adenostoma sparsifolium). Redshank itself is an open shrub or small tree with multiple branches from the base covered with rust-red, shaggy bark. Redshank chaparral is often adjacent to and may intergrade with chamise chaparral. Redshank chaparral is found in only four locations in southern California and Baja California. Its center of distribution is in the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains and the interior valleys of Riverside and San Diego Counties. Major stands occur in the south Laguna Mountains of San Diego County and the mountain plateaus of northern Baja California., the western Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles County, and the western Cuyama Valley of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. It ranges in elevation from 600 to 1800 meters, with both coastal and desert exposures on granitic soils. In the Plan area, about 13,282 acres of redshank chaparral occurs just above chamise chaparral in the Santa Rosa Mountains, approximately 76% of it currently occurs on public land or private conservation land. Associated covered species. The species associated with this community are the gray vireo and the Pratt's dark aurora blue butterfly.