page_title: Otay Mountain Wilderness
section_title: Flora
hierarchical_section_title: Otay Mountain Wilderness / Natural history / Flora
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of Chamaebatia australis at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Berkeley, California
context_page_description: The Otay Mountain Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in San Diego County, California, 12 miles east of the city of Otay Mesa and just north of the Mexican border. Some parts of the wilderness area rise quickly from sea level, reaching a peak of just over 3,500 feet at the summit of Otay Mountain.
  Wilderness status was conferred on October 7, 1998, effectively preserving 18,500 acres under protection of the Wilderness Act, a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The legislation was signed by President Bill Clinton on December 11, 1999.
context_section_description: The world's largest stand of Tecate cypress (Cupressus forbesii) are found at Otay Mountain Wilderness, as are at least 15 plant species that are candidates for federal listing as threatened or endangered species. In all 37 plant species found on Otay Mountain are listed as sensitive by the California Native Plant Society, at least five, including the Tecate cypress, occur only on Otay Mountain or in the immediate are.
  Particularly important species include: 
  Cleveland's monkeyflower (Mimulus clevelandii)
  Mexican flannelbush (Fremontodendron mexicanum)
  Otay Mountain lotus (Lotus crassifolius var. otayensis)
  Southern mountain misery (Chamaebatia australis)
  San Miguel savory (Satureja chandleri).
caption: Southern mountain misery
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