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• Succulents occur in favorable habitats throughout the reference area. <br />Plains pricklypear, which has a cover of 1.4 percent, forms large <br />patches characterized by the dead growth of previous years. Ball <br />cactus, hedgehog cactus and Datil yucca are infrequently present as <br />isolated individuals. <br />Galleta (3.0 percent), blue grams (3.0 percent), and needle grasses (4.0 <br />percent) are the major perennial grasses. Galleta and blue grams are <br />consistently present throughout the reference area while the needle <br />grasses (probably all Stipa tomato) are locally abundant in favorable <br />habitats. Red threeawn, generally indicative of disturbed fields, <br />occurs with a 1.0 percent cover. Less abundant species respectively <br />include Indian ricegrass, squirrel tail, sand dropseed (Sporobolus <br />cryptandrus), Sandberg bluegrass, and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron <br />cristatum), an introduced grass, invading from roadcuts or agricultural <br />plantings. <br />• Cheatgrass, the most abundant plant, has a cover of 8.4 percent. <br />Cheatgrass is consistently present throughout the reference area. <br />Sixweeks fescue, the only other annual grass present, did not provide <br />any cover. <br />Scarlet globemallow provides all the perennial forb cover at 0.6 <br />percent. Other conspicuous perennial forbs present include Engelmann <br />fleabane, hairy goldenaster, babywhite aster, ballhead gilia (Ipomopsis <br />congests), and others. See Table 7. <br />Annual and Biennial forbs are numerous but provide little cover because <br />of their small size and low abundance (Table 7). Conspicuous plants of <br />this group present include woolly plantain, Jim Hill mustard, flannel <br />mullein (Verbascum thapsus), yellow salsify (Tragopogon dubius), and <br />others. <br />Soil cryptogamic cover is characterized by both ground lichens and moss. <br />. Total cryptogartiic cover of 1.8 percent is composed of a 1.0 percent <br />lichen cover and a 0.8 percent moss cover. Common ground lichens <br />present in the open soil areas include Xanthoparmelia chlorachroa and X. <br />11 <br />F9i~i'SOr~.isiLili ~...__...rvi~:f.aEU:~. ..v~G` i..wx"' ..n ~' L'i~...~ .. ,.,....mss - <,-.. ilyy`'_c"- <br />