Animals and plants of the Huffaker Hills and surrounding areas

Lizard blending in with a lichen-spotted rock

The treeless Huffaker Hills Open Space in southeast Reno, Nevada, is a small desert landscape surrounded by urban development and a reservoir called Alexander Lake. Renoites enjoy the hills by having their lunch break next to the trailhead at Alexander Lake Road and by hiking or jogging up and down the hills.

Humans and animals have been attracted to this unique place for a long time. An interpretive panel inside the park names four major habitats of the Huffaker Hills and surrounding areas: sagebrush chaparall, high bunch grass prairie steppe, low bunch grass meadow and bulrush marsh. The Huffaker hillsides mainly feature rocks and sagebrush and—during late winter and spring months—colorful lichen and various flowering plants. In the past, one would have found Pronghorn antelope, Mule deer, Bobcat, Coyote and Badger (according to the panel). Animals commonly seen today during the hot and dry season are rabbits, snakes and lizards.

We further learn that about one hundred bird species are found in sagebrush habitat including the sage thrasher, sage sparrow, Brewer's sparrow, western bluebird, mourning dove, quail and sage grouse. The latter won't be found at Huffaker. But raptors on the hunt and migratory shorebirds can be viewed—as well as low-flying airplanes leaving or approaching Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Mariposa lily	Hooker's balsamroot	Clover
Biscuitroot	Prickly pear	Sagebrush galls

A short distance from the trailhead you will find a panel that shows some of the plants that may be found in the Huffaker Hills: Great Basin Beckwith violet (Viola beckwithii), Bruneau mariposa lily (Calochortus bruneaunis), tidytips (Layia glandulosa), largeflower hawksbeard (Crepis occidentalis), Hooker balsamroot (Balsamorhiza hookeri), biscuitroot (Lomatium sp.), blepharipappus (Blepharipappus sp.), buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.) and prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha). These plants are listed as perennial (persisting for longer than one year), with the exception of the annual blepharipappus and tidytips. Other plants such as Indian paintbrush, lupines, phlox and clover also grow at Huffaker. A selection of plants is shown herein.

The most dominant shrub is the aromatic evergreen species Artemisia tridentata, called big sagebrush or simply sagebrush. A few ephedra plants, known as Mormon Tea or Indian Tea, grow within the Huffaker sagebrush chaparall. The “Sagebrush galls” picture at left features the sagebrush leaves with their three-lobed ends, hence the scientific name Artemisia tridentata (tridentata meaning three-toothed). Sagebrush doesn't bite, but a rattle snake, hiding in sagebrush shade, might. Sagebrush leaves with two or four lobes are also found. The picture shows thumb-sized, greenish white to pink galls on the leaves. Such galls may occasionally be found on individual shrubs. The galls are an abnormal growth caused by insects, which use them as shelter for themselves and their larvae. A limited amount of galls do typically not harm the plant.

Buckwheat

Prickly pear cacti are rare in northern Nevada. The plants at Huffaker are of small size. Some grew (maybe they will grow again) in the area affected by a fire in 2010 (Huffaker fire). Prickly pear flowers are bright yellow when in blossom. The picture here shows a rosée-colored flowerbud ready to unfold.

The buckwheat family (Polygonaceae) is rich in species. The Tahoe Wildflowers Guide by Laird R. Blackwell (Morris Book Publishing, 2007) features two species with yellow flowers, cushion desert buckwheat (Eriogonum caespitosum) and ochre-flowered buckwheat (Eriogonum ochrocephalum), which like to grow on dry slopes. Other Polygonaceae of the Reno/Tahoe area are altered andesite buckwheat (Eriogonum robustum) and Lobb's buckwheat (Eriogonum lobii).

Huffaker Hills Open Space

Huffaker Hills Trailhead and Park
Beckwith violet
September 2010 brush fire
Reno's Huffaker Hills Trailhead
Huffaker Park Lookout Trail
German-language version of this page

Trailing Ahead

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