Taxon Report

Mortonia utahensis (Coville ex Gray) A. Nels.

Utah mortonia

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Mortonia utahensis, commonly known as Utah mortonia, is a perennial evergreen shrub in the Celastraceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Joshua tree "woodland", Mojavean desert scrub, and Pinyon and juniper woodland, growing at elevations from 760 to 2100 meters. Mortonia utahensis is ranked 4.3, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Mortonia utahensis (Coville ex Gray) A. Nels.
Common Name:	Utah mortonia
Family:	Celastraceae
Element Code:	PDCEL09030
USDA Plants Symbol:	MOUT
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial evergreen shrub
Blooming Period: Mar-May	Mar-May
Elevation:	760-2100 (2495-6890)
General Habitats:	Joshua tree "woodland", Mojavean desert scrub, Pinyon and juniper woodland
Microhabitat:	Carbonate
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.3
Global Rank:	G4G5
State Rank:	S3?
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	0
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	0

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Inyo (INY), San Bernardino (SBD)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Clark Mtn. (3511555), East of Echo Canyon (3611645), Echo Canyon (3611646), Fall Canyon (3611772), Horse Thief Springs (3511578), Ivanpah Lake (3511554), Mesquite Lake (3511565), Mesquite Mountains (3511566), North of Tecopa Pass (3511681), Pachalka Spring (3511556), State Line Pass (3511564), Thimble Peak (3611771), Twelvemile Spring (3611612)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	0
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	0	0 %

Notes



See Synoptical Flora of North America 1(1):400 (1897) for original description, and Botanical Gazette 47:427 (1909) for revised nomenclature.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 27 February 2025].