The Rare Plant Treasure Hunt

San Gabriel Story

2011-11-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

Jane Strong, member of the San Gabriel Mountains Chapter, recent winner of our Grand Prize, sent in a nice little write up on the chapter's project:

"In doing the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt for the second year in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, I'm struck by how things change and how things stay the same.

Take road conditions, for example. Last year, 2010, it was a detour around the burn area adding more miles and more driving time required to reach the study area. This year, it was two washouts closing the road miles before the usual starting point necessitating a 7-mile snowshoe journey. However, another road opened up on the south side of the mountains in late March. Now only a 4-mile trek up-and-over the main ridge along a narrow, windy, poorly maintained trail was needed to get there. Poor road conditions are always with us, but the reasons for them change.

But the flowers don't wait for the snow and ice to melt or the road to open to bloom. The new routes led to new discoveries! We recorded eight rare species not seen last year.

The most thrilling new find is Fritillaria pinetorum, the stunning pine fritillary, CA Rare Plant Rank 4.3 found along the trail from Crystal Lake (see above photo by Kathryn LaShure). More mountain finds: Eriogonum kennedyi var. alpigenum, southern alpine buckwheat, 1B.3, Heuchera abramsii, Abram's alumroot, 4.3, and Monardella cinerea, gray monardellla, 4.3.

We explored new territory in the Station burn area and found the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains sunflower, Hulsea vestita ssp. gabrielensis, CA Rare Plant Rank 4.3, thriving in the newly exposed ground along Santa Clara Divide Road. Last year we found another species of Hulsea, heterochroma, red-rayed hulsea, not so rare, in the 2002 Curve Fire area. So two burn areas of different ages have two different species of Hulsea as fire followers. Fires are always with us, but the fire following species change.

More Awards and Honorable Mentions

2011-11-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Volunteer Hour Award
The award for most volunteer hours completed goes to both Jane Tirrell for 491 hours and Walt Fidler for 394 hours. These San Gabriel Chapter members visited the Lily Springs study site almost weekly throughout the season.

Honorable Mentions:

The East Bay Chapter put a twist on the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt with their Adopt-a-Rare-Plant Program. In this program’s first year, over thirty volunteers committed to surveying for certain rare plants throughout the East Bay Chapter’s area. Data are still coming in from East Bay, and we are excited to see their results!

Partner Recognition Awards:

Our partner, George Butterworth, working for the DFG, George submitted over 20 survey forms for rare plants in the Carrizo Plain.

And the Desert Survivors Club. Members of the club helped organize, lead and participate in several treasure hunts in the Mojave Desert, many of them traveling from the Sacramento and the East Bay!

Thank you all for your dedication!

Essay Winner

2011-11-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

From John McRae: Lewisia kelloggii. Photographer uncertain

Looking for Lewisia: a Treasure in the Klamath Mountains near Orleans

June 25, 2011

by Carol Ralph

We turned off Highway 96 south of Orleans onto Forest Service roads and rumbled up the steep, forested slopes, leaving behind the smooth, quiet ride of pavement, the sinuous but gentle Klamath River valley, and the comfort of a cell phone signal. Dust, bumps, loose gravel, steep drops by narrow roads are standard fare even on well maintained Forest Service roads. The security of having the most recent Six Rivers National Forest map was eroded by the knowledge that roads on the map could have been blocked, intentionally or accidentally, or roads Forest Service doesn't want used were simply not shown on the map but were still obvious on the ground. The map's campground symbols floated ambiguously in the steep, twisted landscape, indicating only vaguely where the patch of level ground with picnic tables and fire ring were. Security in this country comes from having plenty of water, overnight provisions, at least one spare tire, and tools. Did I mention it is steep? This was wild country, penetrated by fearless bulldozer drivers during the road-building frenzy in the 1970's. Wild, steep, and grand.

In this mountain vastness 15 of us were headed to see a 2-inch tall, 1-inch diameter rock garden flower that blooms for a few weeks in only one place in the entire Klamath Ranges. Armed with good maps and photos provided by the Forest Service botanists we still needed the guidance of Kirk Terrill, the sharp-eyed naturalist who spotted this flower and knew that he hadn't seen it anywhere else in all his years working for the Forest Service in these mountains. It was in the only stand of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) he knew of in these mountains, at about 4,000 ft elevation, between Slate Creek Butte and Cedar Camp. Last year Forest Service botanists determined this flower to be Lewisia kelloggii, previously known only from the Sierra Nevada. Sure enough, there it was, dazzling white pinwheel flowers squeezing above the pebbles of a gentle, rocky, serpentine ridge patched with Huckleberry oak (Quercus vacciniifolia) and manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida?) and dotted with lodgepole pine. It didn't match the photos we had to help our search image. The photos showed a rosette of leaves, similar to those of Siskiyou lewisia (a.k.a. cliff maids, Lewisia cotyledon). We were looking at flowers with only stubs of leaves below them. Some herbivore--deer? jack-rabbit? caterpillar?-- had enjoyed the small resources of this deep-rooted plant. The flowers had the gland-toothed sepals that define this species. We noted a small, yellow-flowered lomatium, later diagnosed as Lomatium tracyi, growing in the same area, and the stonecrop Sedum laxum ssp heckneri.

The Forest Service contingent of our group stayed at this site to collect samples for DNA analysis by a Forest Service lab and to scout the full extent of the population. The rest of us drove a short ways to a knoll with a weather station just south of Mud Spring, which had shown promise in aerial photos as habitat similar to where the L. kelloggii was. In reality, it was different--steeper, no lodgepole, a different lomatium, a different sedum. No Lewisia. After establishing camp at Cedar Camp about a mile away, we walked a road-trail to Mosquito Lake, through more rocky and shrubby pine woodland. No Lewisia.

As evening approached we shared a picnic dinner at Cedar Camp, named for incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), not Port Orford-cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana). Then some of us departed, while 7 camped for the night in the fresh mountain air among the cedar and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Early next morning our Rare Plant Chair, Dave Imper, who has a good sense of direction, discovered that the Lewisia site was 15 minutes away by walking down an old road from Cedar Camp. Our goal for the day was to drive through Louse Camp to Onion Mountain, which has rocky balds that might host Lewisia kelloggii. This road had clearly not received Forest Service attention since the late departure of winter. We dodged rocks and trees on the road. With good teamwork and a scavanged timber we even moved a boulder about the size of a VW bug (well maybe a doghouse) enough to squeeze through a rock fall. We made it to Louse Camp, a lovely refuge under big trees by Bluff Creek, for lunch. Faced with a long uphill across a scree slope that had released lots of rocks onto the road, we abandoned our plan, reversed course, and headed out east to the G-O Road and down to Orleans.

How many botanists does it take to move a boulder? The smart one is watching for falling rocks. We moved the rock Gary is studying. Photo by the author.

This expedition was organized by our chapter and by the Forest Service as a Rare Plant Treasure Hunt, a program started by state CNPS rare plant botanists. We found our treasure in only one place, a known place, so we helped document the extremely restricted extent of this population. We didn't contribute much to the burning questions rare plant biologists face continually: Why only here? and how did it get here? The DNA analysis might clarify a little by suggesting to which other population this L. kelloggii is most closely related

As a road tour of our wild mountains we were more successful. Besides the grandeur we saw spots and corners of beauty and interest: pockets of rhododendron's (Rhododendron macrophyllum) fresh pink flowers or mountain dogwood's (Cornus nuttallii) glowing white; a population of Dicentra formosa ssp. oregana (a rare bleeding heart), expanded from 3 to 50 plants over 27 years; elegant ruffles of Iris tenuissima and I. tenax ssp. klamathensis; white spears of blooming beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax); intriguing, ghostly stems of spotted and western coralroots (Corallorhiza maculata and mertensiana). We discovered places we can recommend others visit: Cedar Camp, Mosquito Lake, Louse Camp. A pre-trip campout by a few of us also tested E-Ne-Nuk Campground along highway 96, and the Bluff Creek Historic Trail, both on the list for future outings. The route followed on our chapter's Lily Heaven field trip winds through these mountains. For the slightly adventurous this area in Six Rivers National Forest offers good botanizing.

Treasure Hunt Chapter Awards

2011-11-01T15:02:00.001-07:00

In the San Gabriel Mtns near the Lily Springs study area (photo by Stacey Hoopes)

The winner of the Grand Prize for CNPS chapter with the most rare plant occurrences found and updated and hours logged is the San Gabriel Mountains Chapter. As a part of their continuing Lily Springs project they documented many populations and put in hundreds of hours. Thank you to all participants including Jane Strong, Jane Tirrell, Graham Bothwell, and Walt Fidler.

The 2nd place chapter award goes to the San Diego Chapter. They recorded many rare plant occurrences on the coastal dunes of San Diego County, including over 700,000 rare Coastal woollyheads, Brand’s phacelia, Nuttal’s lotus and Robinson’s pepper-grass plants. Special thanks to the trip organizer and leader, Frank Landis.

3rd place goes to the Mount Lassen Chapter, which organized two chapter-wide Rare Plant Treasure Hunt field trips. Members of the chapter also led several trips in small groups, collecting data on nine different rare plants. And thanks to Ron Coley for his work organizing and planning trips.

Photo Contest winners

2011-11-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

This exquisite photo has won our 2011 First Place Prize for Best Photo. Lara Hartley is the photographer and the subject is Calochortus plummerae, Plummer's Mariposa Lily, rank 1B.2. Beautiful. Thank you Lara for your dedication to the California flora.

Don Davis took a lot of great pictures this year and this one may be the best! It has snatched our second place prize. This is the comical pollination of Mimulus johnstonii, Johnston's Monkey flower, rank 4.3. Thank you Don.

This lovey photo showing treasure hunters at work in the meadows of the Sierras was taken by Rich LaShure and won our 3rd place prize. Good work Rich!

And a big thank you to all who submitted photos, we had so many good ones. Remember next year to have contest in mind when you're in the field!

2011 Rare Plant Treasure Hunt Team Awards

2011-10-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

We're pleased to recognize outstanding volunteers, chapters and organizations with awards. Again this year we had many dedicated volunteers, here are the ones that got our top honors:

The recipient of our 2011 Grand Prize Rare Plant Treasure Hunt Award for most occurrences updated is Don Davis, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire! Don caught the botany bug this spring and went into the field almost every weekend from the end of April through October. He found 42 new and historic rare plant occurrences in the desert and mountains of Southern California. Don documented many Opuntia basilaris var. brachyclada (Shortjoint beavertail cacti), Orobanche valida ssp. valida (Rock Creek broomrape) and Calystegia peirsonii (Peirson's morning glory). Don is studying botany and hopes to make a career of it in the future. Thank you Don for all your long hours- planning, traveling, searching, photographing, identifying and documenting!

The photo below was taken by Don of Peirson's morning glory

The Red Jeepsters, the husband and wife botanical team of Kathy and Rich LaShure, have earned our 2nd place award as Intrepid Treasure Hunters. They decided this summer and fall to combine their weekly hikes in the Southern Sierras with treasure hunting and they found 32 rare plant populations! Kathy is president of the Creosote Ring CNPS sub-chapter, volunteers at the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest and makes artisan soaps out of her home. She's a busy lady, thank you both taking the time to find and document rare plants!

Photo of Mountain phacelia (Phacelia orogenes) taken by Kathy.

Our 3^rd place award for number of occurrences updated goes to Natalia Blackburn and her team members, Carrie Sowa, and Lisa Couper and all their spouses. They documented 20 rare plant populations on their own in Northern California, with a special focus on Brandegee’s Clarkia, and attended several staff-led treasure hunts. Thank you all!

Photo by Lisa Couper of road with the rare Brandegee's Clarkia (Clarikia biloba ssp. brandegeeae).

A Fond Farewell

2011-10-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

Me in the Mecca Hill early this spring

My time with the Treasure Hunt will come to an end this month! I am setting off on new adventures and won't be continuing with the project next year. The last two years as the Coordinator of the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt desert project has been amazing. I've been able to see many rare plants that few people get to see and go to remote and lovely places that not enough people visit. When I started this job I had absolutely no idea, no idea, how beautiful and diverse the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California could be. From the sand dunes, to the rocky mountain ridges from the West desert to the East desert there are so many different habitats and microhabitats where native plants(and animals) have made their homes. And I really believe these areas and their inhabitants need to be protected and preserved. They are depending on us for their lives and we need them too. They enrich our lives in many ways; some ways I'm sure we don't even know of yet.

Besides seeing amazing things, I've gotten to spend time with and work with great people from all over California and Nevada. I've learned so much from them and have enjoyed getting to know them. And don't think just because I won't be working for CNPS anymore that I won't still be going out into the field. I already have some trips planned for next year with my treasure hunt friends (I just won't have to be in charge)!

A big THANK YOU to all that have made this project a wonderful endeavor!

Here are a couple photos of some of my favorites sites:

Above: The Kramer Hills in the West Mojave, better than a garden!
Above: The Eastern Mojave Desert not far from the Mojave National Preserve

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Proboscidea althaeifolia, rank 4.3, Devil's Claw or Unicorn Plant. This plant was gorgeous and showy making you wonder why they would call it Devil's Claw, but the seed pods have long "claws."

Just got back from a Treasure Hunt in Rice Valley in the Northern Colorado desert, really almost the Mojave desert. Fall is a great time to visit the desert. The weather was lovely in the high 70's/low 80's with a slight breeze and flowers were blooming after a rain that had come through a few weeks earlier. Fitting for the Halloween season we found 3 spooky rare plants: Devil's Claw, Snake-bush and Foxtail cactus. Actually they weren't too spooky, but rather lovely. This area still continues to have a display despite the droughts it has experienced and the destruction of large swaths of land by off-road vehicle use.

Getting up close and personal with the rare plants.

Coryphantha alversonii, rank 4.3, Foxtail cactus. Still hanging on although the area has been ravaged by Off- roaders and target shooters.

There's Still Time!

2011-10-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

Looking for rare plants in Rice Valley

You still have 5 days left to submit any photos, essays or survey forms in to the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt to be considered for an award!

Photos should be of either a rare plant, a rare plant habitat or of people searching for a rare plant. Essays can be about an experience with the Treasure Hunt or just your feeling about rare plants and their conservation, etc. Be creative!

Send questions and submissions to aswanson(at)cnps.org.

Wonderful Workshop

2011-10-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

The workshop in the Mojave was amazing. The weather was great and things were in bloom. We had a great group of professionals and enthusiasts and together we saw 37 rare plants in two days! That's a record for me. (Above, fields of Rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus nauseosus).
The very rare Euphorbia exstipulata var. exstipulata, Clark Mountain Spurge, rank 2.1. This was one of our most exciting finds.
Jim Andre and Tasha La Doux of the Granite Mtns Desert Research Center were our instructors and chose excellent locations to show us and taught us a good deal about identifying summer and fall blooming desert plants.
One of my favorite rare plants of the trip, Ageratina herbacea, fragrant snakeroot, rank 2.3. The flowers smelled a lot like oatmeal cookies with raisins! Yum.

Fall Trip

2011-09-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here is your chance to get out into the desert this fall! I will be leading a treasure hunt October 8-9th (Saturday-Sunday) in the Southern and Eastern Mojave desert. The location is still TBA, but I've heard as of yesterday a lot of rain just fell in the SE Mojave. Who knows what we could find. Perhaps, the rare Proboscidea althaeifolia, Desert Devil's Claw! RSVP to aswanson@cnps.org. Details at our Meetup site.

In a wash in the Turtle Mountains. We took a collection of seeds from these Nolina plants for the seed bank at the RSA botanic garden. They were covered with bees that then proceeded to mob me! Luckily no stings.

Thank you!

2011-09-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

This post is a "shout out" to all the people and organizations that have supported our program in one way or another this season. I can't individually thank everyone here, but I'd like to send a big thank you to all our volunteers as a whole and the groups and organizations that have made this program work.

So far in 2011 over 65 volunteers have dedicated over 1300 volunteer hours to the the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt in the desert and surrounding areas. We would have been lost without all this help. Our main funding comes from grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). So first and foremost a thank you to them for seeing the value in this project and making it possible!

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden has been a huge support. They have given me office space for most of the year and also let me use all of the resources there, including a first rate herbarium. Visit www.rsabg.org and see the article they did about us here.

San Bernardino National Forest helped plan and co-lead a rare plant treasure hunt in the Big Bear Lake area.

Habitatwork is an "environmental stewardship action group" that joined us in the desert to search for rare plants. The leaders were so organized and efficient that things went very smoothly.

The Sierra Club has supported us in several ways. They have published two articles about us- in the Desert Report and the Palm and Pine. And Sierra Club member and leader of the Friends of the Juniper Flats Jenny helped us plan and co-lead a trip to the Juniper Flats area in the Northern San Bernardino Mountains Foothills.

Desert Survivors Club and their members have been a huge help to us this season by planning, co-leading and participating in three overnight camping field trips. These are truly hardy volunteers. Photos top and bottom of DSC members.

California Wilderness Coalition helped us plan and lead a three day trip into the Soda Mountains proposed wilderness to search for rare plants. Finding nonexsistent roads and fending off rattlesnakes was only part of the fun!The Coachella Valley Preserve was gracious enough to let us do a treasure hunt on their property and show us around. We even got a see a rare fringe toed lizard!

And of course a thank you to the CNPS chapters and their members that have participated in desert treasure hunts- LA/Santa Monica Mtns, Creosote Ring subchapter, San Gabriel Mountains, Riverside, San Diego, Milo Baker, Kern, Bristlecone, El Dorado, Sacramento, East Bay, Mojave, Mount Lassen, Sanhedrin, Dorothy King Young, Milo Baker, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara Valley and Santa Cruz (please forgive me if I have left any chapter out!).

Up in the Mountains

2011-08-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

I recently got the chance to go with members from the San Gabriel Mountains Chapter to their study site in none other than the San Gabriel Mountains. It was wonderful, everything was blooming and the views were lovely. Volunteers visit the site at least once a week and record what is blooming. This is a great project. Thanks for letting me join.
The small and beautiful, Mimulus johnstonii- Johnston's monkeyflower, rank 4.3
I finally got to see it! The Lemon lily, Lilium parryi, rank 1B.2

And also Oreonana vestita, Woolly Mountainparsley, rank 1B.3 was there, past blooming and fruit, but still interesting. It only likes high elevations.

Prizes!

2011-08-24T11:32:00.001-07:00

Opuntia basilaris var. brachyclada, Short joint beavertail cactus, rank 1B.2 photo by Don Davis.

To recognize our volunteers we will be giving away prizes to those that have excelled in one of the categories below. To be considered for a prize you must turn in all your forms, photos, and/or volunteer hours to us by October 17th. You can mail them to treasurehunt@cnps.org. Winners will be notified by October 23rd and announced November 1st.

The catergories are:

Most occurrences updated

This is our Grand Prize for our Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire

Free attendance to one education workshop Or CNPS online store or REI gift certificate- $100 value and
One year free individual CNPS membership- $45 value

2nd most occurrences updated

Second Prize - Intrepid Treasure Hunter,

CNPS online store or REI gift certificate-$50 value and
One year free individual CNPS membership- $45 value

3rd most occurrences updated

Third Prize - Terrific Treasure Hunter,

CNPS book (of the choices below) and
One year free individual CNPS membership- $45 value

And for our Chapters we have the

Grand Chapter Prize-

Chapter with the most hours and occurrences updated

Field equipment for future treasure hunts
Bragging rights!

Runner up Chapter Prize
Chapter with the second most combined hours and occurrences updated receives:

Field equipment for future treasure hunts
Bragging rights!

Best Photo
Enter a photo you have taken of a rare plant, rare plant community or treasure hunt (it doesn't have to be associated with a form or from a specific treasure hunt). We will choose 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners to receive one of the prizes listed below and have their photo displayed on our blog, facebook page and website! Files sizes should be at least 900 KB large. Send them in to the address above. Individuals are limited to 6 entries.

Best Essay
Please send in an essay about your experience with the treasure hunt. This is very open-ended, so be creative! Essays should be from 1 to 2 pages. The winning essay will be featured on our blog and on our website in the section Stories from the Field. The winner will receive one of the prizes listed below.

Prizes will also go to those with the Most field trips led; Most field trips attended; and Most volunteer hours.

These recipients may choose one of the following:

a choice of CNPS regional Wildflower posters
a choice of CNPS books:

California's Changing Landscapes: Diversity and Conservation of California Vegetation
The Best Blooms Ever-Why El Nino Makes the Desert Bloom
Plants of the Tahoe Basin (softcover)
Rare Lilies of California

Desert Workshop

2011-08-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

CNPS offers workshops and trainings for professionals and experienced amateurs in the field of botany, biology and ecology. On September 22-24th they will be offering a workshop in the Eastern Mojave taught by preeminent desert botanists James Andre and Tasha La Doux. Participants will learn firsthand about the rare and native annuals and perennials that are primarily only seen in the fall. Participants will also have the chance to stay at the UC Granite Mountains Desert Research Center in the Mojave National Preserve. This should be an amazing workshop and did I mention I'll be there. :)

For more info on the workshop and how to attend go here.

Field Trip!

2011-08-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

Not many people venture out to the desert in early fall, but it can be a great place to be. I was just out in the Eastern Mojave last week and it was wonderful, warm not hot with a nice breeze and things were blooming! So lets go on a trip...

The Chemeheuvi Mtns got a lot of rain in July and things should be really blooming at the end of August beginning of September. Join us for 1-3 days (September 1st-3rd). We will be doing moderate to possibly strenuous hiking in up to 100 degree weather (probably not that hot though)! But it will be worth it, we'll be exploring a very underexplored area, looking for rare plants and collecting plant specimens. One night will be camping and the other probably at a motel in Needles. This will be the ultimate desert field trip!

We'll meet at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA 1500 N. College Ave. on Thursday, September 1st at 7:45 and leave at 8am for the east or you can meet us along the way. Please RSVP to aswanson@cnps.org.

Intrepid explorer

2011-08-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to thank our intern from this spring, Duncan Bell. Duncan is an intrepid explorer, enthusiastic advocate of the desert and a talented botanist. He just has a knack for finding things: rare plants, wild animals, etc.

Not only did he help lead trips, document rare plants, collect and identify specimens, and educate people about California's deserts he also managed in his words, "not falling to my death, not being mauled by bobcats, or bitten by the 30 something rattlesnakes we came across, not getting the field vehicle stuck (even though we tried a few times), only losing one tent to the weather, having no volunteers perish, keeping my beer relatively cold most of the time (yay!), not getting lost (even though I had no clue were I was at any given time (somewhere in the desert, right?)) and I guess I finding a couple of really cool plants."

Thanks Duncan for all you did and didn't do! The year wouldn't have been the same without you.One of Duncan's finds, Tetradymia argyraea (Striped horsebrush), rank 4.3, Photo by Duncan himself. The photo at the top is Duncan chatting with a Nolina plant (Beargrass), taken by Amanda Bell.

The Thrill of the Hunt

2011-08-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Swertia neglecta, the rare Pine green gentian (Photo by Don Davis)

I asked one of my volunteers to write about his recent experiences with the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt. He has done a lot of great work this year and taken many beautiful photos. You can check out his photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/californianativeplants/

"My name is Don and I am a telephone man currently living in Southern California with my wife and son. I found out about the California Native Plant Society and their Rare Plant Treasure Hunt program a little over a year ago. I attended my first treasure hunt on April 30, 2011 and absolutely fell in love with plants!

This was my first experience with anything of this nature. I had taken a prior botany course and I have always had an interest in science but never imagined that someone such as myself could contribute to science, boy was I ever wrong. This program has given an incredible amount of incentive and inspiration to me, so much so that I have gone back to school to study horticulture/botany.

I spend a lot of my own free time studying plants and characteristics that define a particular species and take one day out of my weekend to do my own little hunts. I have started going places on my own to find rare plants. I even started climbing and hiking to search for rare plants, all the way to Mount San Antonio and Mount Baden Powell in the San Gabriel Mountains, which were both very personal accomplishments for me.

I have met some of the nicest people through this program. I always have people ask me on my hikes what I am writing down or what am I photographing and I get to explain to them a little about my interest in plants and the California Native Plant Society and their effort to document rare plant species. This weekend on Mt. Baden Powell, I actually got to point out two rare plants to a young man hiking with his brothers Boy Scout Troop, Oreonana vestita, and Eriogonum umbellatum var. minus, It was neat to see a young person so interested in plants. He was even interested in going on a treasure hunt one day.

I am so appreciative to all at the CNPS and the RPTH programs, especially the coordinator, Amber. She is always willing to take time out of her busy schedule to answer questions and even provide a little education now and then. Even if this program were to stop today, I would still have an undying interest in plants. Thank you for such a wonderful program!"

Thank you Don for sharing your story. I am interested to see what you do in the future. You really are a budding botanist!

Highlights of the Season

2011-08-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a few highlights from the desert this season:The rugged beauty of the Desert Mountains is a wonder. These are the Marble Mtns in the Eastern Mojave.Of course finding rare plants is always a highlight. Above is a tiny plant in the Phlox family- Linanthus maculatus, Little San Bernardino Mtns linanthus, rank 1B.2. Each plant is an inch to less than an inch tall. We found several new populations just at the tail end of their blooming and fruiting season. In another two weeks they would have been dried up and gone! We also collected seed to be preserved in a the seed bank at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. This was the first collection of seed ever made of this rare plant! (Photo by Duncan Bell)This little Liveforever, Dudleya abramsii var. affinis is only found in the Northern San Bernardino Mountains and we found the first known population of it on BLM land.

Another highlight has been the animals we've come across. I posted a photo already of the baby bobcat Duncan found. We also found this great desert tortoise sunning himself near his burrow. And I will never forget almost running into two rattlesnakes in combat, check out the video here.Finding a wild saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea, rank 2.2, was exciting because it hadn't been seen in over 20 years and it is at farthest western end of it's range. This is somewhat of a maverick cactus. There are no other saguaros nearby, actually not for 10 miles or more. How did this cactus make it all the way out there and survive?

The native plant flower show at the Maturango Musuem in Ridgecrest was a highlight because we got to collect flowers for the show and help identify ours and others. The flowers were displayed by family and each one was labelled with its name and where it was collected. A great refresher course on desert plants. (Photo by Kathryn Kvapil LaShure) And to close this is my favorite desert plant, Arctomecon merriamii, the rare white bear poppy, rank 2.2. Maybe we shouldn't have favorites but this plant is so beautiful and elusive. I've gone in search of it four times, but only found it twice. This year we found a new population.

There are many more things I could add to this list, but this is a good overview on what you can find out in the wilds of the California deserts-AMAZING!

In the San Bernardinos

2011-08-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Two trips this summer to the San Bernardino Mountains have been successful (and great fun). In the southern foothills we found this beauty, Calochortus plummerae, Plummer's Mariposa Lily, rank 1B.2.
Our next excursion was with the US Forest Service surveying near Bluff Lake. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we found 7 different rare plant species. Damsel flies (perhaps some kind of Bluet) were around the lake en masse-lovely!

Here is the rare Sidalcea pedata, Bird foot checkerbloom, rank 1B.1

And just for fun, take a look at the mycoparasitic Snow plant, Sarcodes sanguinea. So unusual.

For more photos of the plants of the area check out this photo gallery by our volunteer, Michael Charters. An amazing photographer! http://www.calflora.net/recentfieldtrips/blufflake11.html

All About Us!

2011-06-20T14:13:00.001-07:00

Check out the article about us in the Desert Report!

Trip to the Mountains

2011-06-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

We are joining forces with the US Forest Service to do a treasure hunt in the San Bernardino National Forest Saturday, July 9th at 9:30 am. This should be a wonderful trip to a beautiful area. We will be searching for Lemon lily (Lillium parryi) and San Bernardino Owl's Clover (Castilleja lasiorhyncha) among other things. Don't miss this trip! RSVP to aswanson@cnps.org for more details. Lemon lily (Lilium parryi, list 1B.2) A meadow plant [photo by Jane Tirrell, 2010]

End of the Season

2011-06-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

The desert season is winding down and I thought it might be nice to have a little recap of what we've done. Since the middle of February there have been 22 Treasure Hunts in the desert. So far over 100 survey forms have been submitted (with hopefully more to come in) and an estimated 900 volunteer hours have been logged! Thank you, thank you to all those volunteers and organizations that contributed their time and talents to making this season a success!

Things will start back up again in the fall, make some space on your calendars!

Here is one of the 50 different rare plant species we've found this year.

Erigeron parishii, Parish's flebane, rank 1B.1 Listed as a threatened plant.Below: The Kingston Range in the Eastern Mojave.

See you in the fall!

Not To Be Missed

2011-05-17T14:15:00.001-07:00

The Rare Plant Treasure Hunts in the desert will be winding down soon, but we still have a couple more trips. This weekend Duncan Bell is taking volunteers into the Southern Mojave and for Memorial day weekend we are planning a trip to the Desert Mountains of the Eastern Mojave.

Penstemon utahensis, a rare gem

We were just in the Eastern Mojave and it is beautiful in the high elevations right now (and the weather is pretty good too). Come join us as we explore the Kingston and Clark Mtns and Maybe the Avawatz Mtns and Ivanpah valley area. We will be looking for three types of Penstemon, a wild onion and several cacti among other things.

You must RSVP for these trips so email us at treasurehunt@cnps.org to hold your spot. You can come for all or part of the trip. According to demand the end of May hunt will go from Friday the 27th to Sunday the 29th or Saturday the 28th to Monday the 30th.

What the Desert Holds-Part II

2011-05-16T11:58:00.001-07:00

Another amazing trip out to the desert. This time we went to the Eastern Mojave and found rare plants and animals. Check out the photos taken by intern Duncan Bell. Arctomecon merrriamii, White Bear Poppy-one of my favorite.
the rare Allium nevandense (Nevada onion)
Baby bobcat, I didn't actually get to see this little guy, Duncan climbed the top of the mountain and spotted him.

April Rare Finds

2011-04-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Phacelia nashiana, Charlotte's phacelia, rank 1B.2-An electric blue flower, beautiful. To bad it's being over run with weeds (see the Crane's bill's fruit stuck to the plant).

A beautiful canyon in the western Mohave that will be highly impacted by Wind Power development.

Eriophyllum mohavense, Barstow woolly sunflower, rank 1B.2, a very, very small plant, see the scale below. Those taller flowers are only about 6 inches high.

Coryphantha alversonii, Foxtail cactus, rank 4.3, A darling little cactus. This is the first time I've seen it in full bloom. Love it!

What the Desert Holds

2011-04-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

So much to blog about, so little time...
The desert holds so many amazing things and I am constantly suprised. Every trip has something unexpected, like snakes! What is it with rattlesnakes this year?? I saw zero last year and this year I've already seen four, specifically three in one day last week! One (a Mohave green, Crotalus scutulatus) was just hanging out on the road. The others (perhaps Southwestern speckled rattlesnakes, Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus) were in some kind of combat near another road.

Mojave May Trips!

2011-04-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars and RSVP your spot now! Contact treasurehunt@cnps.org.

Saturday, May 7th Daytrip to Johnson Valley to search for Cymopterus multinervatus, (Purplenerve springparsley, see below) and Mimulus mohavensis, and more.

Friday to Sunday, May 13-15th Silurian Hills, Valjean Hills and Avawatz Mountains- North of Mojave Preserve, To look for Desert Bear Poppy (Arctomecon merriamii, see below), Androstephium breviflorum, Mojave Milkweed (Asclepias nyctaginifolia), Camissonia boothii and Purplenerve springparsley (Cymopterus multinervatus, see above). Join us Friday morning/night or Saturday morning for this camping trip.

Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22nd Trip lead by Duncan Bell, 2010 Grand Prize winner of the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt to the Eastern San Bernardino Mtns.

Friday to Sunday, May 27-29th Trip to Kingston and Clark Mtns and the Ivanpah Valley -to look for Mojave milkweed (Asclepias nyctaginifolia) and many others. Overnight camping trip, come Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.

More Trips

2011-04-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

We have a few more trips on the horizon we'd like you to join. These are mostly mid-week trips, so not everyone will be able to join, but if it's your spring break, you're retired or you have time off then awesome! On Friday, April 15th Come see the Maturango Museum Wildflowershow in conjunction with the CNPS Creosote Ring subchapter, then survey with us nearby. We will most likely be going to the El Paso and Rand Mountains. Celebrate California Native Plant Week with a trip: Tuesday-Wednesday, April 19th-20th we will be surveying for Penstemon albomarginatus, the very rare White margin Penstemon among other plants along Route 66! This will be an overnight camping trip. Thursday, April 21st- Collecting for the Rancho Santa Ana Botanica Garden Wildflower Show from Yermo down to the Newberry, Rodman and Ord Mountains, just east and southeast of Barstow. This should be a lot of fun! And on Saturday, April 30th we are having a joint trip with the Sierra Club to the Juniper Flats/Ord Mountains area outside of Victorville. Join us! RSVP to treasurehunt@cnps.org for details. Above: Eriophyllum wallacei, Woolly daisy. Not rare but a relative of the rare Barstow woolly daisy.

The Latest Installment...

2011-03-31T16:44:00.001-07:00

Our last trip out was amazing! Yes, it may have gotten cold. Yes, it was windy, but we saw astounding fields of wild flowers, impeccable petroglyphs and even a rare plant or two. Can you spot the rare cactus? I almost tripped over it. It was well camouflaged. This is Sclerocactus polyancistrus, Mojave fish hook cactus. But I think the artists of this petroglyph had seen the cactus before! Do you see a resemblance?I love the wide open spaces of the desert, we hardly saw any people for days.And the fields of shockingly yellow wildflowers was a good bonus!

Amazing Things

2011-03-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

The Colorado Desert of California has already given us a bounty of rare blooms and plants this year!

Fairy Duster, Calliandra eriophylla, rare plant rank 2.3, a beautiful little shrub. This ones stamens aren't fully open.

Mentzelia puberula, Argus Blazing star, rare plant rank 2.2. Last documented in this area in 1941!

This is a rare find-a Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) in California! This was last spotted overhead by plane in 1984!

This Saguaro is at least 100 years old, probably older. Look how tall it is and how many arms it has!

Plants and Petroglyphs Desert Trip

2011-03-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Petroglyphs by Bud Walley, Google Earth

There is still time to get in on this truly unique and exciting treasure Hunt! Not only will we be looking for rare plants but we will be looking for Petroglyphs as well! This trip will be just north of Barstow, so it's not far from the LA area. We will be meeting Friday March 25th and ending the night of Sunday, March 27th (there is also the possibility of meeting us Saturday morning, if you can't join us Friday). Please RSVP to treasurehunt@cnps.org for a full itinerary.

The rare Mentzelia tridentata, Three toothed Blazing Star, rare plant rank 1B.3

We will be searching for the Blazing star pictured above, as well as the Barstow Woolly sunflower, the rare desert springparsley and others. It should be amazing trips for experts and novices alike!

Trips, Trips and More Trips

2011-03-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Jacumba Mountians, Imperial County

RSVP to treasurehunt@cnps.org for more details. Space limited on some trips. If you can't come for the whole trip arrangements may be made.

Monday-Wednesday, March 7-9th: Eastern Imperial County: Alogodone Dunes and environs. Camp on the dunes, go on a night hike and look for rare plants to boot. We're hoping to find weird and wild rare plants with true desert experts.

Friday, March 11th: Coachella Valley Preserve- Meet 9 am in the Preserve Parking Lot in Thousand Palms.

Friday-Sunday, March 18-20th: Joint Trip with Habitatworks: Exploring south of Joshua Tree near the Chuckwalla Mtns, Red Cloud Canyon, and Orocopia Mtns to hunt for Coues’ Cassia, California snakebush, Ditaxis serrata var. californica, Matelea parvifolia, Ayenia compacta, Lavendar Sage, Astragalus insularis var. harwoodii and Castela emoryi. Space limited.

Friday-Monday, March 25-28th: “Plants and Petroglyphs”- Desert Survivors Club trip
Combing Black Mountain, Cuddeback Lake, Golden Valley Wilderness area, Red Mountain to find Indian petroglyphs and rare plants such as Mentzelia tridentata, Eriophyllum mohavense, Cymopterus deserticola, Mimulus mohavensis, Eschscholzia minutiflora var. twissellmannii. Space limited.

Friday-Sunday, April 1-3rd: Soda Mountains proposed wilderness area with the California Wilderness Coalition- Come explore undiscovered country!

Friday-Sunday, April 8- 10th: Desert Survivors Club Trip 2- Surveying in the Solar Energy Study Areas: Chuckwalla Valley and Iron Mtns. RSVP required, space limited.

Week of April 11th-Surveying near Ridgecrest and collecting for the Creosote Ring Wildflower Show

Week of April 18th- Collecting for RSABG Wildflower Show and surveying for Penstemon albomarginatus.

Saturday, April 30th: Sierra Club Joint Trip to Juniper Flats and the Ord Mountains in the Northern San Bernardino Mountains Foothills. Come explore the border of the mountains and the desert. We may find Cushenbury buckwheat and other limestone endemics.

Searching for the Wild and Weird!

2011-02-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

Another trip to the desert! Join us, this time for a mid-week trip to the Colorado Desert

Monday-Wednesday, March 7-9th

Come botanize with us down Hwy 178 from Blythe to Arrowhead Springs to areas rarely explored by botanists!

We will be searching for Harwood’s milkvetch (Astragalus insularis var. harwoodii), Saguaro (Carnegia gigantea), Fortuna Range Suncup (Camissonia arenaria), Fariyduster (Calliandra eriophylla), Argus Blazing Star (Mentzelia puberula) and perhaps Sand Food (Pholisma sonorae) among other things.

RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Rare-Plant-Treasure-Hunt.

(photos top-Sand Food (Pholisma sonorae) by Anna Bennett, 2010; bottom-Saguaro (Carnegia gigantea) by Keir Morse, 2010)

Trip Change of Dates

2011-01-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

From all reports it looks as though the desert is blooming early this year! Our first trip of the season to the Ocotillo area will be moved from March 11-13th to February 25th-27th!

We also still have a couple spots open if you'd like to join us. RSVP to http://www.meetup.com/Rare-Plant-Treasure-Hunt or treasurehunt@cnps.org by February 5th. A more detailed itinerary will be sent to confirmed participants.

This should still be an awesome trip and we are sure to find many things in bloom and hopefully some rare plants as well!

(Photos top to bottom: Indian Gorge; Cylindropuntia wolfii; and Looking east to Ocotillo. All these beautiful photos by Anna Bennett)

First Trip of the Season

2011-01-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

Reserve your spot now to join in a Rare Plant Treasure Hunt in the desert. Volunteers will search for rare wildflowers in the Southern Colorado (Sonoran) desert outside of Anza-Borrego State Park. We will be exploring the mountains and washes near Ocotillo, the Jacumba and Coyote Mountains, and the Yuha Buttes in Imperial County. Hopefully we will find Mountain bush lupine, Orcutt’s woody aster and Brown turbans, among others. This will be sure to be a beautiful trip with the possibility of seeing masses of amazing wildflowers. We will be camping Friday and Saturday night in the beautiful desert landscape and enjoying a potluck on Friday night.
Friday afternoon-Sunday afternoon, March 11-13th, 2011
RSVP by February 25th to http://www.meetup.com/Rare-Plant-Treasure-Hunt or Treasurehunt@cnps.org, the first 10 volunteers to RSVP will be able to attend. Please let us know if you have any special circumstances.

Grand Prize Winner

2011-01-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

Duncan in his element, March 2010

Duncan Bell was our 2010 Grand Prize Individual Winner. Read below about his project and how he got involved in botany.

"It was Naomi Fraga and Sula Vanderplank of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden who first introduced me to floristics. As an intern they took me out to far away places and showed me plants that most people have never seen. I was immediately hooked. It wasn’t long after that I heard a discussion from botanists Steve Boyd and Lucinda McDade on the importance of floristics in California and how very large areas were still unexplored. Like many others, I assumed that all of California had been fully explored and that there was nowhere where botanists had not been. I was very wrong! With some research I found that there were many areas (vast areas!) that were under collected and unexplored. Partly for my need to be in nature, and partly for my want to learn how to identify and key out plants, and with a whole lot of curiosity I set out to a small unexplored mountain range in the desert in literally “the middle of nowhere“. I wasn’t sure what I would find, but I ended up finding a great deal. To date I have identified over 150 species of plants that have never been collected from that mountain range, many of which are rare and endemic to only California.

I urge anyone interested in floristics, rare plant hunting, and botany in general to look to California’s deserts, especially those areas belonging to the Bureau of Land Management. There are many large solar and wind projects that are going into effect right now that will soon disrupt thousands of acres of desert lands in the way of bulldozing to make way for solar mirrors and wind turbines. It is these areas that need immediate study and exploration before those plant communities are wiped out. There are so many areas out there that need study, and so many areas where no botanist has been.

Any plant collection within an unexplored area, weather common or not, is an important collection for science as it increases the knowledge of species distribution and habitat. There is great potential to find undescribed species as well as undiscovered populations of rare species within these vast areas. In an editorial commending field botanists for significant floristic discoveries, California botanist Scott White made a terrific statement by saying “Anyone with requisite curiosity and a plant press can make similar discoveries”.
Much thanks to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, the California Native Plant Society, and to all desert naturalists assisting in the conservation of California’s great deserts."

Chapter Winner

2010-11-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

Phacelia mohavensis, Mojave phacelia, CNPS list 4.3 (Photo by Jane Tirrell)

The San Gabriel Mountain CNPS Chapter in Southern California took our grand prize. Volunteers in this chapter contributed over 400 hours of their time and submitted 52 survey forms! This included 26 separate rare plant species. Wow! So we would like to take this moment and recognize their efforts and tell you about their project. Why don't you join them next year?

Carpet of Phacelia mohavensis. (Photo by Jane Tirrell)

Jane Strong, Field Trips Chair, writes:

This year, our chapter began a new project called the Lily Spring Area Survey. The purpose of the survey was to check on the phenology of about 100 plant species documented in Wayne Sawyer’s paper published in Crossosoma, February 1987 13(1):5-10, entitled “A List of High Elevation Angiosperms and Their Phenology in the San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California”. This project dovetailed perfectly with the objectives of the CNPS Rare Plant Treasure Hunt.

The survey area is between 7,000 and 8,400 feet elevation, bordered on the south by the Pacific Crest Trail, and on the north by Highway 2, Angeles Crest Highway, and includes two moist areas, Little Jimmy and Lily Springs, a wind-swept, rocky ridge and many north-facing, forested slopes. The site was visited at least once a week by one or more of the team members from May when the road was still closed and icy continuing through November until the road is once again closed for winter conditions.

Lilium parryi, Lemon lily, list 1B.2 (Photo by Jane Tirrell)

The project manager is Graham Bothwell who also did the website at www.cnps-sgm.org/lilyspring/lsas_overview.php. Jane Tirrell and Walter Fidler did over 95% of the field work and reporting; Shirley Imsand and Laura Scott Sellers participated one or two days. Tom Chester helped with identification. Jane Strong did a workshop, some field work, identification, and the paperwork necessary for the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt.

Highlights are the discovery of several populations of Viola pinetorum ssp. grisea, gray-leaved violet, CNPS list 1B, the first Los Angeles County collection, and a significant range extension for Mimulus breweri, Brewer's monkeyflower, not previously vouchered in Los Angeles County. There were vast carpets of Phacelia mohavensis, Mojave phacelia, CNPS list 4.3 and Acanthoscyphus (Oxytheca) parishii var. parishii, Parish's oxytheca, CNPS list 4.2.

Viola pinetorum ssp. grisea, gray-leaved violet, CNPS list 1B (Photos by Jane Tirrell)

Prize Winners

2010-11-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

Treasure Hunters at Chimineas Ranch, San Luis Obispo County

Here's the short list of the prize winners for the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt. These dedicated volunteers and partner organizations went out searching for rare plants and documented important information on survey forms about their populations. This data included namely location and habitat descriptions along with gps coordinates (usually), a site quality and viability assessment, blooming and fruiting information and population estimates. This isn't as difficult to gather as it sounds, keen observations skills and some good reference materials is all you really need.

Throughout the next few weeks I will be highlighting the project these groups and individuals have done. Stay tuned for that series. But now, without further ado, the winners are...

Individual Winners:
Grand Prize – Duncan Bell, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire
Most occurrences updated by an individual!

Second Place- Clyde Golden, Intrepid Treasure Hunter
2nd most occurrences updated by an individual!

Third Place – Natalia and Bill Blackburn, Terrific Treasure Hunters
3rd most occurrences updated by an individual(s)!

Chapter Winners:
Grand Chapter Prize- San Gabriel Mountains Chapter
Chapter with the most hours and occurrences updated!

Second Place Chapter Prize-San Diego Chapter
Chapter with the 2nd most occurrences updated and volunteer hours!

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS with the most occurrences:

George Butterworth, Department of Fish and Game-most occurrences updated!

Karen Cotter and volunteers, Santa Clara County Parks-2nd most occurrences updated!

Tanya Chapple and interns from the Mid Klamath Watershed Council

Tarja Sagar and interns, Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area, National Park Service

Michael Chasse and volunteers at the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, National Park Service

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Clyde Golden, Most prompt form submitter-Thank you for getting your forms in so quickly!

Millie Nielson, 4 years old, of Nevada - Youngest Treasure Hunter

Photo Contest Winners!

2010-11-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

The decision has been made and the best photo submitted to the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt is....

this photo of the elegant White bear poppy, Arctomecon merriamii, list 2.2 by Lara Hartley, Kern County Chapter! This plant is found in the Eastern Mojave desert. Lara submitted a survey form for this and other rare plants in the desert. Thank you Lara!

Our 2nd place winner is Ben Smith who captured this beautiful rare Mariposa Lily, Calochortus weedii var. intermedius, list 1B.2, in Orange county. He submitted survey forms on not only this plant but on the rare Peninsular beargrass, Nolina cismontana, list 1B.2. Thank you Ben!
Our 3rd place winner is Don Davis, who took this photo of the striking Alkali Mariposa Lily, Calochortus striatus, list 1B.2 near Lancaster, CA. Don is getting us coordinates for this rare plant population as well. Thank you Don!

More Photos

2010-11-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

The Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County was remarkably beautiful this year and one of our volunteers spent a lot of time documenting rare plants in the region. Check out some of his photos.

Layia heterotricha, Pale Yellow Tidytips, list 1B.1

Hills covered with Madia radiata, Layia heterotricha and Monolopia lanceolata

A field of Madia radiata, Golden madia, list 1B.1 with Guillenia lemmonii, Lemmon's mustard

All photos by George Butterworth

Photo Contributions

2010-11-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

We had many people all over California finding rare plants this year. Over the next few weeks I'll share their photos. Enjoy!

Calochortus weedii var. intermedius, Weed's Mariposa Lily, List 1B.2

Nolina cismontana, Peninsular Bear Grass, list 1B.2

(Photos by Ben Smith)

Another Field Trip

2010-10-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

For this field trip we surveyed for Opuntia basilaris var. brachyclada, Shortjoint beavertail cactus, and we found it. The areas had suffered from a burn a couple of years before, but the cacti were making a comeback. We also had a lot of fun scrambling up formations at Mormon Rocks. I also headed up to Ridgecrest the next week to give a presentation to the local CNPS chapter. It's an interesting drive. The presidents of the chapter has a beautiful native plant/xeric garden near the foothills of the Sierras. Oh how I love the desert!

The Desert in Fall

2010-10-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

This was my first time to the Mojave desert in the fall and it was more beautiful than I even expected. There weren't many things blooming, but the mountains and the structure of the trees and shrubs and the silhouettes of the Joshua Trees were wonderful to behold. We had a field trip out to Joshua Tree National Park and found this rare little beauty-Coryphantha alversonii, Foxtail cactus.
Some things were blooming with a vengeance, see California fuschia, Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium below.

He's another one of our finds. This is the desert after all.

Rare Beauty

2010-09-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I returned from a CNPS meeting held on the Northern California coast in Fort Bragg. While there we received a tour of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, http://www.gardenbythesea.org/. This garden occupies woods and coastline in Fort Bragg and is such a beautiful place. Near the coastline they recently cleared an area of invasive non-natives (mostly Ice plant) and let native plants repopulate the area. One of these plants to recolonize was the beautiful and rare Castilleja mendocinensis, Mendocino Coast Indian Paintbrush (list 1B.2).Here is our tour guide and the garden's Natural Areas coordinator, Mario, telling us a little more about the area and what they did. Good conservation work, Mario!

Viola!

2010-09-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

A group of intrepid treasure hunters went out this month to the El Dorado National Forest and sent back pictures of their rare find. This is Viola tomentosa, the Woolly violet. Good job and thanks for sharing!

Photos by LS Couper - DVM

Call for Photos

2010-09-14T14:32:00.001-07:00

Eriogonum lobbii, Lobb's buckwheat

Hello Treasure Hunters- We want your photos!

If you've been on a Treasure Hunt and want to share your photos with us you could win a prize. We are offering a prize to the best photo from a Treasure Hunt. Photos will be featured on this blog and on our CNPS website to get people excited about the project.

Please email them to Amber at treasurehunt@cnps.org.
Thank you and good luck!

It's On

2010-08-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

The fall Treasure Hunt location is now confirmed!
We will be going to Joshua Tree National Park on Saturday, October 9th, 2010 from 9:30 am – 5 pm. Meet at the Oasis Visitor’s Center Parking Lot, 74485 National Park Drive Twentynine Palms, CA. Please RSVP to treasurehunt@cnps.org.
It should be a great trip and free camping may also be available in the park for interested volunteers! Please join us.

Make it Fun!

2010-08-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Not only is a Rare Plant Treasure Hunt a great way do some good, it's also fun! You can make any hike a treasure hunt and keep you're eyes out for rare plants. Just tell us where you'll be and we can get you set up to find them. One treasure hunter brought along her gnome to document his trip to see rare plants.

Traveling Gnome with Starved Daisy

Deadline!

2010-08-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

In an effort to get all our data together in a timely manner we are putting a deadline on turning in survey forms. Please get all your forms into treasurehunt@cnps.org or cnddb@dfg.ca.gov by November 1st. Please email treasurehunt@cnps.org if you have any questions. Thanks!

Save the Date

2010-08-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Rare Plant Treasure Hunt and Training

Saturday, October 9^th, 2010

10 am – 5 pm in the Mojave, location to be disclosed

Come experience the desert in fall and

Learn how to do a Treasure Hunt!

For more information write treasurehunt@cnps.org

A Wonderful Trip

2010-08-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Finally I have something to post about! We just completed our first trip leader training and it went swimmingly. We had a great mix of people of all ages and backgrounds. Everyone learned how fun and relatively easy looking for rare plants can be. Hopefully they will go on their own trips or lead trips in the future.

Here is one of our finds-Erigeron miser (Starved daisy), just a little thing.

In the sunflower family, but it has no ray petals.

And it's habitat-granite outcrops

Getting a dendrochronology lesson! (Tree ring dating that is.)

Another beautiful location, love those high Sierran Lakes.

The rare Ivesia sericoleuca, Plumas mousetail.

Trip Itinerary!

2010-07-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't been out in the field in weeks and I miss it! Can't wait to get back out there looking for rare plants. I'm excited for this trip it should be lovely! Here's the preliminary itinerary.

Tahoe Training Trip Itinerary
Sat, Jul 31, 2010:
8am depart from California Native Plant Society Headquarters, carpool
10am meet at the Kingvale Shell Station, exit 171, Hwy I-80
10:30am depart for first location,
10:45 am arrive Cold Spring Campground to look for
Erigeron miser, Starved daisy occ #13. Go over survey form protocols.
11:45 am lunch at Campground
12:30 pm Depart for next location
1pm Arrive Donner Pass Rd from Ext 176 Boreal Mountain Resort
3 mi easy round trip hike to Flora Lake to look for occurrence of Erigeron miser.
4pm Depart for campground near Donner Lake -set up camp.
6pm Potluck, Mexican night
7pm Short presentation on the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt
Sun, Aug 1, 2010:
8am Depart campground
8:45 Arrive Sage Hen Hills, look for Drosera anglica
11:45 Lunch
12:30 Depart
12:45 arrive Hobart Mills, Prosser Reservoir, look for Ivesia sericoleuca occ # 41, 10.
3pm Depart for Sacramento/ Home.

Treasure Hunt Training

2010-07-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Rare Plant Treasure Hunt
Trip Leader Training and Treasure Hunt
Tahoe National Forest
Jul 31-Aug 1, 2010

Target Audience: The California Native Plant Society is putting together a special treasure hunt and training for anyone interested in becoming a Rare Plant Treasure Hunt Trip Leader. If you have some botanical field experience (whether professional or not) and would like to lead a group of any size on a trip this year or next then please join us.

Location: Tahoe National Forest-Donner Pass to Sage Hen Hills. Meet at CNPS headquarters, 2707 K Street, Ste 1 Sacramento on Sat morning at 8 am to carpool or at the Kingvale Shell Station (South of exit 171 off Hwy I-80) at 10 am. Please bring all supplies you will need for camping and surveying. More camping site details to come.

This trip should be amazing and beautiful. We will be looking for Erigeron miser (starved daisy), Ivesia sericoleuca, Eriogonum umbellatum var. torreyanum and the carnivorous sundew-Drosera anglica.

Cost: Minimal, there may be a small charge for our campsite.

RSVP: Reply to Amber by Jul 27th at treasurehunt@cnps.org or at http://www.meetup.com/Rare-Plant-Treasure-Hunt.

Season Summary

2010-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

The results are in. This spring season has been highly successful in the Mojave Desert!

Data has been gathered on the populations of over 180 new and historic rare plant occurences.

Over 30 separate rare plant species have been documented.

Over 395 volunteer hours have been logged.

All this information will go into the Department of Fish and Game's Database of Rare California Flora and Fauna (the California Natural Diversity Data Base) and be distributed to agencies that can hopefully conserve these populations and their habitats.

But don't worry if you haven't been involved yet, this project is ongoing into the fall and hopefully next year!

In the Western mojave-it may not look like this for long though,

this area is slated to be a wind farm

Read All About It...

2010-06-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

We made it into the San Francisco Chronicle! Read about two journalists' take on the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt and the trip that they made searching for rare plants on Mount Diablo.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/25/HOOG1DTR77.DTL

In the Mountains

2010-06-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when botanists start to head up to the mountains to find things blooming. I just got back from a field trip in the southern Sierra Nevadas with Kern County CNPS Chapter members and look at what we found.

Phacelia exilis, list 4.2. The rare lavendar windows flower
Calochortus westonii, list 1B.2. A rare marioposa lily

Enlisting the Boy Scouts

2010-06-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

When it comes to service the Boy Scouts are very giving. I enlisted their help on a treasure hunt to find this rare variety of cactus, Opuntia basilaris var. brachyclada. They found several populations. Good job Scouts!

An exciting snakeskin find!

Suprise!

2010-06-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

The great thing about the desert is it always suprises you. You never know what you will find or what will be in the next wash or on the next hill. Two weeks ago we were in the field and it started to hail! That's what is covering my hat below.Then we ran into a herd of wild burros, two of which are pictured below. Not exactly great for plant life, but a part of the desert nonetheless.

Here we found the largest indigo bush I've ever seen. Beautiful.

And our best suprise, the rare penstemon-Penstemon fruticiformis var. amargosae!

Even Kids Like It!

2010-06-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my delinquent blogging hardcore fans, but I have been in the field a lot and finding all sorts of goodies. Here are some of the latest pictures. Look at my flickr page for more photos.

These kids were happy to join us on a field trip and were very adept at finding cacti and yucca. They loved being outside, seeing and learning about wildflowers and chasing after a lizard or two.

A rare desert mallow, Sphaeralcea rusbyi var. eremicola, with highly dissected leaves.

Below: Cymopterus gilmanii, a rare find from the carrot and parsely family, can you see the resemblance? (but p.s. don't eat it!)

And for the pièce de résistance I present the White Bear Poppy, Arctomecon merriamii, which has eluded me until now. When I finally saw it I shrieked for joy. Every part of it is lovely and delicate, even the very fuzzy leaves. You too can find such treasures although you may have to climb a little farther than you thought you would, it's so worth it!

A Perfect Poppy

2010-05-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Just found this gem on Wednesday. Isn't it beautiful.
Eschscholzia minutiflora var. twisselmannii
(the flowers on this variety aren't very minute)

May Field Trips

2010-05-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

There will be two more field trips in May!

This Saturday, May 15th to Silver Mountain, north of Victorville
and
Saturday-Monday, May 22nd-24th to Tecopa Hot Springs Area

see details at http://www.meetup.com/Rare-Plant-Treasure-Hunt

Where the Streets Have No Names

2010-05-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Another great trip out to the desert! We found seven rare plants (3 of them cacti).

The desert is in full bloom near the Mojave National Preserve. The rare Grusonia parishii, lovingly referred to as 'Dead cactus'.

It is actually alive and well and will bloom soon!A great view of Clark Mountain
Physaria chambersii, the rare Double bladderpod

Reunion in the Desert

2010-05-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

These friends decided to combine a reunion vacation with the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt.

Not only did they find a new appreciation for the desert but they also found this,
the rare Purplenerve spring parsley- Cymopterus multinervatus.

Eureka!

2010-04-30T16:52:00.001-07:00

The desert was rich in blooming cacti this last trip. Check out some of my latest finds!

Coryphantha chlorantha

(Pincushion cactus)

Sclerocactus johnsonii

(Pineapple cactus)

Let's Meet Up

2010-04-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

So I've discovered a great new site that maybe most of you knew about-Meetup.com.
If you go there http://www.meetup.com/Rare-Plant-Treasure-Hunt/ you can become a member of the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt Meet Up Group and find out details about and RSVP to our Mojave Excursion II. What could be better than that?

Good Finds

2010-04-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

The field trip to the El Paso wash was great. We had a big turn out and the weather was lovely. Although we didn't find any plant plants where we surveyed, it was good to see what was out there. But along the way a fellow treasure hunter and I visited a few other spots looking for rare plants and we found the beautiful blue Phacelia nashiana (see above).
A Treasure Hunter filling out a survey form for the rare plant on her right.

These two pictures are at the Kramer Hills, the wildflowers there, although not rare, are blooming in en masse. Amazing! You'll see desert dandylions, white tidy tips, scale buds, snake heads, phacelia and many more. To get there, take Hwy 395 and go east down Kramer Rd (a dirt road) 9.4 miles south of Kramer Junction or 20.8 miles north of Adelanto. Happy hunting!

You Asked For It

2010-04-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

Many of you wanted to see a list of the plants that we are looking for in the Mojave. Here is a list of some of our highest priority plants. This list is subjective and is mostly made up of plants that aren't primarily found on already protected lands, like National Parks and Wilderness Areas. Please leave comments if you have suggestions to add to this list.

Mojave Rare Plants:
Abronia villosa var. aurita
Achnatherum aridum
Allium shevockii
Arabis dispar
Arabis pulchra var. munciensis
Arabis shockleyi
Arctomecon merriamii
Asclepias nyctaginifolia
Astragalus allochrous var. playanus
Astragalus hornii var. hornii
Astragalus jaegerianus
Astragalus preussii var. laxiflorus
Astragalus preussii var. preussii
Astragalus tidestromii
Blepharidachne kingii
Bouteloua trifida
California macrophylla
Calochortus palmeri var. palmeri
Calochortus striatus
Calystegia peirsonii
Camissonia boothii ssp. boothii
Camissonia boothii ssp. intermedia
Canbya candida (Pygmy Poppy)
Carex vulpinoidea
Castela emoryi
Chamaesyce platysperma
Chorizanthe parryi var. fernandina
Chorizanthe parryi var. parryi
Chorizanthe xanti var. leucotheca
Cordylanthus tecopensis
Coryphantha alversonii
Coryphantha chlorantha
Coryphantha vivipara var. rosea
Crepis runcinata ssp. hallii
Cryptantha clokeyi
Cymopterus deserticola
Cymopterus gilmanii
Cymopterus multinervatus
Cymopterus ripleyi var. saniculoides
Deinandra arida (red rock tarplant)
Deinandra mohavensis
Echinocereus engelmannii var. howei
Enneapogon desvauxii
Eriogonum bifurcatum
Eriogonum gilmanii
Erioneuron pilosum
Eriophyllum mohavense
Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. Twisselmannii (Red Rock Poppy)
Euphorbia exstipulata var. exstipulata
Fimbristylis thermalis
Galium proliferum
Grindelia fraxinipratensis
Grusonia parishii
Layia heterotricha
Leptosiphon serrulatus (Linanthus serrulatus)
Linanthus maculatus
Linum puberulum
Loeflingia squarrosa var. artemisiarum
Lupinus magnificus var. magnificus
Mentzelia inyoensis
Mentzelia polita
Mentzelia tridentata
Mimulus mohavensis
Mirabilis coccinea
Monardella robisonii
Nitrophila mohavensis
Oenothera cavernae
Opuntia basilaris var. brachyclada
Pellaea truncata
Penstemon albomarginatus
Penstemon fruticiformis var. amargosae
Penstemon stephensii
Penstemon utahensis
Petalonyx thurberi ssp. gilmanii
Phacelia anelsonii
Phacelia barnebyana
Phacelia coerulea
Phacelia nashiana
Phacelia parishii
Phacelia pulchella var. gooddingii
Physaria chambersii
Plagiobothrys parishii
Plagiobothrys salsus
Saltugilia latimeri (woodland gilia
Sarcocornia utahensis
Schoenus nigricans
Scutellaria bolanderi ssp. austromontana
Sidalcea neomexicana
Sphaeralcea rusbyi var. eremicola
Viola aurea

Mojave Excursion Success!

2010-04-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

The field trip into the Mojave was wonderful! We found three different rare plants: Cymopterus deserticola, Mimulus mohavensis and Eriophyllum mohavense. Two of these plants are teeny tiny so it took some doing to find them, but it was well worth the effort. And along the way we saw two desert tortoises!

Take a look at our finds:

Cymopterus deserticola, we only found 6 of these plants. That round dark purple ball is a cluster of tiny flowers. The leaves are thick and succulent.

This is the Mojave monkeyflower. To me the flowers look like little ghosts wailing.
This is the Barstow Woolly Sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense). It is so small, to me they look like tiny little bouquets.

Desert Tortoise, don't worry I didn't get to close to it, this photo is zoomed in. They really are cute.

Field Trip to the Carrizo Plain

2010-04-08T12:03:00.001-07:00

You may have never heard of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, but it is a beautiful place in San Luis Obispo County between the Temblor and Caliente Mountain Ranges. I recently got back from a field trip there and thought I'd share some photos. You can see them on flicker at Carrizo Plain Photos.

Update on the Mojave Excursion

2010-04-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Change in plans for our Mojave field trip this week! Due to a late flowering season we have shortened the trip to just this Friday and Saturday, the 9th and 10th.

If you would like to join us we will be meeting in Barstow on Friday morning at 10am at the Desert Discovery Center, 831 Barstown Rd. This is just north of the I-15/ 247 Junction, exit 183.
Hopefully we will be carpooling to find rare plants around the area. We will be on the hunt for the rare Mojave monkeyflower, Mimulus mojavensis. Not many people have seen it in person and this is a great year for it!

Photo by Lara Hartley

A Bevy of Rare Plant Photos Online

2010-04-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Check out our new flickr site for photos from the treasure hunt at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rareplanttreasurehunt/.

We're on facebook now too! Become a fan of the Treasure Hunt search for us under Rare Plant Treasure Hunt of the California Native Plant Society.

Mojave Excursion

2010-03-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Join us in the Mojave April 7-10. You can come for the full time or meet us in the field.
Here is a work in progress itinerary:

April 7th, Wed 8 am leave from Claremont and take I-15 to Victorville then the 247 to Lucerne Valley areas and look for Cymopterus deserticola, Canbya candida, cymopterus multinervatus. Camp.

April 8th Th-Fr 9th am head north on 247 to Stoddard area then Barstow and east to Daggett, the Newberry Mtns, Minneola and Yermo to look for Mentzelia tridentata, Castela emoryi, Mimulus mohavensis, Phacelia parishii, Eriophyllum mohavense. Camp

April 10th Sat am head west on Hwy 58 and up 395 to Kramer Hills and outside of Edwards Airforce Base. Look for Canbya candida, Eriophyllum mohavense and Cymopterus deserticola and possibly farther north for Phacelia nashiana.

These are the main plants I want to look for, but there will be other rare plants we can keep our eyes out for.

It should be a wonderful trip with experienced botanists who can teach you desert plants and the highlight will of course be finding several rare plants!

For more details and to join us contact Amber at aswanson@cnps.org

Superstars

2010-03-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Coryphantha chlorantha (Desert Pincushion) on list 2.1

In California, CNPS has put all rare plants on one of 5 lists. Those on list 1 are the rarest. List 1A plants are presumed extinct. List 1B plants are rare, threatened or endangered in California and elsewhere. List 2 plants are rare in California, but are more common elsewhere. And those on lists 3 and 4 we either don't have enough information about to put on the other rare lists or are under watch because they may become rare.

Each plant also has a threat ranking.
0.1-Seriously threatened in California (high degree/immediacy of threat)
0.2-Fairly threatened in California (moderate degree/immediacy of threat)
0.3-Not very threatened in California (low degree/immediacy of threats or no current threats known)

The little cactus you see above is on list 2 with a .1 threat ranking and is a seriously threatened plant in California. So really anytime you discover such a rare plant it's like running into a celebrity and therefore deserves getting a picture with, which is precisely what I did below! As you can see from the size of this plant you could easily walk right past it if you weren't looking for it. So keep your eyes open treasure hunters-if you're lucky you'll have an encounter with a superstar.

Grusonia parishii with Primm, NV in the background

Here is another cactus you could walk right by. It looks dead, but it is actually alive and well and in the spring will produce beautiful yellow pink tipped flowers. It is listed and ranked at 2.2 by CNPS.

For more info on lists and rankings go to: http://www.cnps.org/cnps/rareplants/ranking.php

It Begins...

2010-03-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

Muilla coronata-a rare desert plant

Welcome to the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt Blog. The Treasure Hunt has now begun. Things are starting to bloom and it's time to get out into the wild and search for California's rare treasures!

What is the Treasure Hunt?
The Rare Plant Treasure Hunt is a new program started by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). Volunteers will look all over California searching for rare plants and documenting their locations. Individuals can go into the field with established groups, form their own teams or go out alone to search. Teams or individuals that have documented the most rare plants by the end of the season will also win prizes!

Why is it important?
This effort is largely to help us conserve California's native rare plants, but we can't conserve them if we don't know where they are. Today, over 2200 of California's plants (that's about 30% of the native flora) are considered rare by CNPS. Despite our best efforts, the current status of many of these plant populations isn't well known. Location information for thousands of rare plants hasn't been updated for decades. We need your help to find these plants!

Who can participate?
Anyone! You don't have to be a botanist or know anything about plants. Just have a willingness to learn and a desire to conserve rare plants.

How can I participate?
Contact me at aswanson@cnps.org and to receive all the materials you need to get started or to sign up for a field trip. For more information on the program, go to www.cnps.org/cnps/rareplants/treasurehunt

Field Trips:
There will be many field trips throughout the season. Each field trip will be lead by experienced botanists.

Thursday-Friday, April 1-2 Carrizo Plain Treasure Hunt.
Join us for a search at the Carrizo Plain National Monument! Come for one day or all three days. Details to follow.

Wednesday-Saturday, April 7-11th Mojave Desert Excursion.
We will be searching all over the Mojave for rare plants. Join us for all or part of the trip. We will be camping, which is a great way to get the full Mojave experience. Meeting time and place details to follow.

Clark Mtns in the East Mojave Desert

Saturday, April 17th El Paso Wash, Indian Wells Valley Field Trip
We will explore the area southwest of Ridgecrest (north drainage of El Paso Mountains) that is the proposed site for the Solar Millennium Ridgecrest project. Ileene Anderson, Center for Biological Diversity biologist, has given us some guidelines. “Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. twisselmanii (Red Rock poppy), Cymopterus deserticola (Desert cymopterus), Phacelia nashiana (Charlotte’s phacelia). We might also spot a Desert Tortoise munching on wildflowers!

Meet at 9:00 AM at the intersection of Brown Road & Powerline Road. That’s 7 miles south of the intersection of Hwy 178 and Brown Road in Inyokern or 2.9 miles west of the intersection of Hwy 395 and Brown Road (coming from Ridgecrest). Passenger cars OK to meeting site. Bring water, snacks, hat, sunscreen, Jepson Desert Manual, notebook and pencil, camera.