Bahía Asunción Plants A-B

Bahía Asunción is a small town located on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, within the Vizcaíno Desert Biosphere Reserve. It is about 3 hours southwest of Guerrero Negro. On our trip to the area April 29 - May 3, 2010, we visited a couple of different areas with local friends to look at plants and make an inventory list of what we saw.

Map of Bahia Asuncion area

Flowering for most winter annuals had already peaked earlier in April while many shrubs were just beginning to bloom. Overall, there was a surprising number of plants in flower. It required a lot of eyes to find many of them because they were very tiny annuals that just disappeared into the surrounding gravelly soils.

On this, and the following pages, you will find some of the plants we saw. We'd like to thank our friends for providing some of the photos on these pages (see credits below photo). You can also see photos of the areas that we visited, including San Roque and San Hipólito, on this page.


Click on any photo for a larger image.

Plants are listed A-Z by family, then A-Z by species. Common names in English and Spanish are noted if available.


Families: A-B | C-E | F-M | N-Z


Agavaceae (Agave Family)

Yucca valida

Yucca valida. Tree yucca, Datilillo.


 

Aizoaceae (Fig-Marigold Family)

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum. Crystalline iceplant, Hielitos. Annual succulent. Leaves flat, wide, large.

 

Yucca valida blossoms
Yucca valida. Inflorescence.


 

Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum

Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum.Iceplant, Hielitos. Annual succulent. Leaves cylindrical, small.


Anacardiaceae (Sumac Family)

Pachycormus discolor
Pachycormus discolor
Elephant tree, Copalquín, Torote blanco
Note pink blush of flowers. Some trees may have cream or pale pink flowers.


Apocynaceae (Milkweed Family)

Funastrum arenarium

Funastrum [Sarcostemma] arenarium. Talayote. Perennial vine.

 

Asclepias albicans

Asclepias albicans. Milkweed, Jumetón. Shrubby perennial.


 

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Ambrosia magdalena

Ambrosia magdalena. Ragweed, Chicura. Shrub.

 

Bahiopsis microphylla

Bahiopsis microphylla. Margarita. Shrub.

 

Dyssodia anthemidifolia

Boeberastrum anthemidifolium. Peninsular dyssodia, Hediondilla. A weedy relative in North America known as "Fetid marigold" best describes how the herbage smells to some.

 

Coreocarpus parthenioides var. heterocarpus

Coreocarpus parthenioides var. heterocarpus. Annual herb.

 

Encelia palmeri

Encelia palmeri. Palmer encelia, Incienso, Peninsular endemic.

 

Encelia species

Different Encelia species: (L to R: E. palmeri , E. ventorum and their hybrid)

 

Pleurocoronis lamphamioides

Pleurocoronis laphamioides. Shrub.

 

Perityle emoryi

Perityle emoryi. Rock daisy, Margarita. Annual herb. Somewhat sticky and smelly

 

Trixis californica

Trixis californica var. californica. California threefold, Santa Lucía.

 

Xylothamia diffusa

Gundlachia [Xylothamia] diffusa.Sonoran goldenbush, Romerillo amargo.


 

Boraginaceae (Borage Family)

Cryptantha

Cryptantha sp. A small, annual, prickly herb

 

Heliotrope

Heliotropium curassavicum. Alkali heliotrope, Hierba del sapo.


 

Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)

Brassica tournefourtii

Brassica tournefortii. Saharan mustard, nabo del campo

 

Spectacle pod

Dithyrea californica. California spectacle-pod (look for the small fruit shaped like a pair of glasses)


 

Burseraceae (Torchwood Family)

Prostrate Bursera

Bursera hindsiana. Elephant tree, Torote prieto prostrated by wind on sea bluff.

 

Funastrum arenarium

Funastrum [Sarcostemma] arenarium. Talayote. Perennial vine.

 

Asclepias albicans

Asclepias albicans. Milkweed, Jumetón. Shrubby perennial.


 

 

Amblyopappus pusillus

Ambylopappus pusillus. Pineapple weed. Annual herb.

 

Bebbia juncea var. juncea

Bebbia juncea var. juncea. Sweetbush, Apá. Shrub.

 

Dyssodia anthemidifolia

Boeberastrum [Dyssodia] anthemidifolium. Appropriately, Dyssodia is Greek for "disagreeable odor", as this annual herb is quite pungent. (Photo: Copyright © 2010 D. & J. Trotter).

 

Coreocarpus parthenioides var. parthenioides

Coreocarpus parthenioides var. parthenioides. Annual herb.

 

Encelia ventorum

Encelia ventorum. Dune encelia. A peninsular endemic.

 

Encelia species

Different Encelia species. (L to R: E. ventorum, Encelia hybrid, E. palmeri)

 

Pleurocoronis laphamioides

Pleurocoronis laphamioides. Shrub.

 

Porophyllum maritimum
Porophyllum maritimum. Odoro,
Hierba del venado. Shrub w/ very strong odor.

 

Trixis californica flowers

Trixis californica var. californica. (Copyright © 2010 D. & J. Trotter).

 

Xylothamia diffusa

Gundlachia diffusa. Photo: Copyright © 2010 D. & J. Trotter.


 

 

Cryptantha species

Two other Cryptantha species nearby.  

 

Heliotropium curassavicum

Heliotropium curassavicum flowers and fruit. (Photo: Copyright © 2010 D. & J. Trotter)


 

 

 

 

 

 

See CalPhotos for more photos of this species

Read more about this highly invasive, noxious weed

 

 

 

 

 


Spectacle pod

Dithyrea californica. California spectacle=pod.


 

 

Bursera bonsai

Bursera hindsiana. Bonsai version, about 3 ft high.


Families: A-B | C-E | F-M | N-Z

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