Quail Mountain was previously covered with old-growth California juniper (Juniperus californica) and Single-leaf Pinyon (Pinus monophylla), Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), and Coastal sage scrub oak (Quercus dumosa) woodland. Several wildfires burned over the mountain, leaving it very barren of taller woody plants, which continues while their slow natural regeneration occurs. There are occasional Pinyon pines and California junipers that survived, and they are the source for new generation.