Editing San Benito County, California (section)

===Flora===
Due to the varied topography, diverse geology, and varied climate from near-coastal to inland, San Benito County contains a high diversity of vegetation types. Common vegetation types include annual grasslands, [[coastal scrub]], [[chaparral]], and [[oak woodland]].

In the extreme southeastern portion of San Benito County at Panoche Valley, [[Panoche Hills]], [[Tumey Hills]], and Vallecitos, the climate is arid and part of the recently recognized San Joaquin Desert biome.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://bioone.org/journals/natural-areas-journal/volume-31/issue-2/043.031.0206/The-San-Joaquin-Desert-of-California--Ecologically-Misunderstood-and/10.3375/043.031.0206.full | doi=10.3375/043.031.0206 | title=The San Joaquin Desert of California: Ecologically Misunderstood and Overlooked | year=2011 | last1=Germano | first1=David J. | last2=Rathbun | first2=Galen B. | last3=Saslaw | first3=Lawrence R. | last4=Cypher | first4=Brian L. | last5=Cypher | first5=Ellen A. | last6=Vredenburgh | first6=Larry M. | journal=Natural Areas Journal | volume=31 | issue=2 | pages=138–147 | s2cid=85723011 }}</ref>  The flora there includes saltbush scrub, San Joaquin Desert scrub, and California juniper woodland. Panoche Hills navarretia (''Navarretia panochensis'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=13540|title=Navarretia panochensis Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> is nearly endemic to this small portion of the San Joaquin Desert in San Benito County.

At the highest elevations of San Benito County at [[Fremont Peak (California)|Fremont Peak]] and [[San Benito Mountain]], the average annual precipitation is high enough and the average annual temperature is cool enough to support mixed conifer forest. At San Benito Mountain, the high elevation climate and extreme geology of the [[San Benito Mountain|New Idria serpentine]], supports a unique mixed-conifer forest that includes [[foothill pine]], [[Coulter pine]], [[Jeffrey pine]], and [[incense cedar]]. The extreme conditions of the [[serpentine soil]]s of the New Idria serpentine mass support many rare local [[Endemism|endemic]] plant species including San Benito evening primrose (''[[Camissonia benitensis]]''),<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=1386|title=Camissonia benitensis Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> rayless layia (''[[Layia discoidea]]''),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/entry/observ.html?track=o#srch=t&taxon=Layia+discoidea&inma=f&cch=t&cnabh=t&inat=r&chk=t|title=Observation Search - Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> Guirado's goldenrod (''Solidago guiradonis''),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=7673|title=Solidago guiradonis Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> and San Benito fritillary (''Fritillaria viridea'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=3646|title=Fritillaria viridea Calflora|website=www.calflora.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref>

The plant species ''[[Benitoa occidentalis]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=9730 | title=Benitoa occidentalis Calflora }}</ref> was named for San Benito County.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=103788|title=Benitoa in Flora of North America @ efloras.org|website=www.efloras.org|accessdate=March 16, 2023}}</ref> ''[[Camissonia benitensis]]'',<ref name="auto"/> ''Monardella antonina'' subsp. ''benitensis'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=5615 | title=Monardella antonina SSP. Benitensis Calflora }}</ref> and ''Arctostaphylos benitoensis''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=9685 | title=Arctostaphylos Xbenitoensis Calflora }}</ref> were named in recognition of their being endemic or near-endemic to San Benito County. The species ''[[Hollisteria|Hollisteria lanata]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=4203 | title=Hollisteria lanata Calflora }}</ref> was named after [[William Welles Hollister]], namesake of the city of Hollister.