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It has been adapted by and to other countries (such as Canada) in various forms. A plant may be described as "hardy to zone 10": this means that the plant can withstand a minimum temperature of 30 to 40 °F (−1.1 to 4.4 °C). Unless otherwise specified, in American contexts "hardiness zone" or simply "zone" usually refers to the USDA scale.
The Sierra Nevada lower montane forest is a plant community along a strip along the western and eastern edges of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. This zone is also known as a yellow pine forest. [1] Moving southward, the elevation range of the lower montane forest grows.
Of California's total plant population, 2,153 species, subspecies, and varieties are endemic and native to California alone, according to the 1993 Jepson Manual study. [4] This botanical diversity stems not only from the size of the state, but also its diverse topographies , climates, and soils (e.g. serpentine outcrops ).
Note: references for each plant species are within their own articles. Bibliography of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) "A Natural History of California," Allan A. Schoenherr, University of California Press, 1992, ISBN 0-520-06922-6. "A California Flora and Supplement," Phillip Munz, 1968, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-02405-2.
The deserts in California receive between 2 and 10 inches (51 and 254 mm) of rain per year. [6] Plants in these deserts are brush and scrub, adapted to the low rainfall. Common plant species include creosote bush, blackbrush, greasewood, saltbush, big sagebrush, low sagebrush, and shadscale. [6]
Alpine plants often have gray appearance from hairs covering the leaves, which reflect the intense sunlight, and protect from winds that cause high rates of water loss through transpiration. [4]: 224 Many Sierra Nevada alpine plants have reddish or whitish leaves to protect them from damage from intense ultraviolet radiation in the alpine zone.
[2] [10] Lodgepole pine growing on granite outcrop. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana), which occurs in vast stands in the upper montane zone, is found mostly in mixed stands in subalpine woodland, particularly with whitebark pine. Lodgepole is not usually found near tree line, although it does occasionally form krummholz.
The California Central Valley grasslands ecoregion, as well as the coniferous Sierra Nevada forests, Northern California coastal forests, and Klamath-Siskiyou forests of northern California and southwestern Oregon, share many plant and animal affinities with the California chaparral and woodlands.