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.
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. Tree yucca, Datilillo.
Aizoaceae (Fig-Marigold Family)
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.
Crystalline iceplant, Hielitos.
Annual succulent. Leaves flat, wide, large.
Yucca valida. Inflorescence.
Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum.Iceplant, Hielitos. Annual succulent. Leaves cylindrical, small.
Anacardiaceae (Sumac Family)
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 [Sarcostemma] arenarium. Talayote. Perennial vine.
Asclepias albicans. Milkweed, Jumetón. Shrubby perennial.
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
Ambrosia magdalena. Ragweed, Chicura. Shrub.
Bahiopsis microphylla. Margarita. Shrub.
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. Annual herb.
Encelia palmeri. Palmer encelia, Incienso, Peninsular endemic.
Different Encelia species: (L to R: E. palmeri , E. ventorum and their hybrid)
Pleurocoronis laphamioides. Shrub.
Perityle emoryi. Rock daisy, Margarita. Annual herb. Somewhat sticky and smelly
Trixis californica var. californica. California threefold, Santa Lucía.
Gundlachia [Xylothamia] diffusa.Sonoran goldenbush, Romerillo amargo.
Boraginaceae (Borage Family)
Cryptantha sp. A small, annual, prickly herb
Heliotropium curassavicum. Alkali heliotrope, Hierba del sapo.
Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)
Brassica tournefortii.
Saharan mustard, nabo del campo
Dithyrea californica.
California spectacle-pod (look for the small
fruit shaped like a pair of glasses)
Burseraceae (Torchwood Family)
Bursera hindsiana. Elephant tree, Torote prieto prostrated by wind on sea bluff.
Funastrum [Sarcostemma] arenarium. Talayote. Perennial vine.
Asclepias albicans. Milkweed, Jumetón. Shrubby perennial.
Ambylopappus pusillus. Pineapple weed. Annual herb.
Bebbia juncea var. juncea. Sweetbush, Apá. Shrub.
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.
Annual herb.
Encelia ventorum. Dune encelia. A peninsular endemic.
Different Encelia species.
(L to R: E. ventorum, Encelia hybrid, E. palmeri)
Pleurocoronis laphamioides.
Shrub.
Porophyllum maritimum. Odoro,
Hierba del venado.
Shrub w/ very strong odor.
Trixis californica var. californica. (Copyright © 2010 D. & J. Trotter).
Gundlachia diffusa. Photo: Copyright © 2010 D. & J. Trotter.
Two other Cryptantha species nearby.
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
Dithyrea californica.
California spectacle=pod.
Bursera hindsiana.
Bonsai version, about 3 ft high.
Families: A-B | C-E | F-M | N-Z
