We found her! We found Charlotte's Phacelia

April 15th-17th, Jessica Orozco and I went to the Kiavah Wilderness. Jessica is also a second year M.S. student. She is conducting a floristic project in the South Fork of the Tule River Indian Reservation. The Tule River Indian Reservation is located on the west side of the Sierra Nevada. It is very lush this time of year and the soil is rich and moist. Quite different from the Scodie Mountains. Her floristic project is seriously amazing. She is one of the first botanists to gain access of the reservation and explore it in full detail. A couple of weeks ago I joined Jessica in her study site. It was so great to finally see her site. In fact Jessica has a blog too! She posted about our adventure here.

We were sent on a mission to collect wildflowers for the annual Wildflower Show at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. It was a great opportunity to get back into the Kiavah Wilderness. We left on a Tuesday and returned Thursday.

Day 1
Tuesday, April 15th

In the morning we had class. After class ended we jumped into Jessica's Jeep and high tailed it to the Wilderness. Since we got to the Wilderness late in the day we only had time to scout areas and get a feel for what we should collect. I was super excited to see that the Allium that I have been watching was finally in bloom. I'm still in shock that the Wilderness is doing so well considering the little amount of rain the area received.

Horse Canyon. Tons of Wildflowers

I still can't believe this is a desert

We drove to the top of Horse Canyon road to set up camp. Unfortunately, I bottomed out on a little rock. Jessica wanted me to make sure the under carriage of her Jeep was okay. I pulled over and jumped out of the car to find that I almost stepped on a snake. It was a beautiful gopher snake, or so I think. It's head was down a hole and it didn't have a rattle.

Trowel for scale

No rattle in sight, what a relief

After assessing the underside of the Jeep we found no harm done and continued up the road to where we were going to camp. We set up camp, ate dinner and then the temperature dropped dramatically. At that point we decided to call it a night.

Camping in comfort

Day 2

Wednesday, April 16th

We ate breakfast and started our collecting adventures. The weather was amazing. I could not believe that we were not being pummeled by wind. It was absolutely wonderful. We explored a nice portion of the PCT and the abandoned quartz mine. Is was spectacular. The flora is on fire! 

Jessica on the PCT. Little tiny Gilia too 

An Astragalus on the side of the PCT

The old quartz mine

We ventured down Horse Canyon Road and it was popping with color.

Astragalus lentiginosus 

Jessica blown away by the strong grape soda scent

We ventured down the road some more and found some really cute dinkophtye. Jessica was especially excited to find our version of "Wooly buddies."

WOOLY BUDDIES!

Eriogonum nudum with a friend

We had a full day exploring the Wilderness and the sun was about to set on us. We headed down to the end of Horse Canyon and set up camp. Surprisingly the night was warm and the wind did not last long to be annoyed by it. 

Day 3

Thursday, April 17th

In the morning we headed over to Cow Haven Canyon. I was in search of a Phacelia. I have been watching it bud over the past couple of weeks and had a feeling it would be flowering. After torturing Jessica in the heat and almost ready to throw in the towel, we found it! We found Phacelia nashiana!  It was amazing! I have never seen anything so blue in my life. It was out of control.

Phacelia nashiana shaded by Leptosyne bigelovii 

Pure beauty

Habitat for Charlotte's Phacelia

It was an amazing feeling to find this rare plant ranked as a 1B.2. It is considered fairly endangered in California. Jessica and I estimated over 200+ plants in this population. It was spectacular. We were in the right place at the right time to find this treasure. The entire slope was covered with wildflowers. The last time I was in this canyon about half of the slope was covered. I wish I had more time at this location. I would have summited the ridge if I could. Time was running out and we had to return to RSABG to deposit our specimens for the Wildflower Show.

This was a truly a rewarding experience. Each time I visit the Wilderness I discover new things about the flora. I am extremely glad I decided to work in the Scodie Mountains. There is so much to learn and so little time. 

Watching the sunrise in the East

Return to Ridgecrest

I can't believe how fast time flies. It was about a year ago that I was introduced to the dedicated wildflower enthusiasts of the CNPS Creosote Ring sub-chapter and volunteers of the Maturango Museum. I have been impatiently waiting for this spring to arrive. Partly because of the wildflowers and the other part in anticipation of returning to Ridgecrest for the Wildflower Exhibit at the Maturango Museum. Last Year Naomi and I went to the Maturango Museum to help identify the wildflowers for the Wildflower Exhibit. It was such an amazing experience. Reflecting back, I'm proud to say that I have come a long way with my botanical skills (although there is still a lot to learn). Last year I was so timid and unsure of my identifications. I remember being too scared to place plants under their botanical names on the tables. However, this year was different. When we walked into the museum the first thing that came into view were tables packed with jars and vials filled with wildflowers. My eyes began bolting from table to table identifying species that I've collected in the Scodie Mountains. It was such a great feeling.

Perrine checking off the list

This year Naomi brought along a new intern. Perrine Veguer, an undergraduate from France, is interning at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden for 10 weeks. It was my first time meeting Perrine. This is Perrine's first time in the United States. For her internship she is to learn about botanical conservation as well as gain cultural experience. Perrine was a great help with setting up the wildflower exhibit. She was tasked with checking off the various plants from the different collecting locations. Oh boy, was she fast at it!

I think last year left a bad impression in our minds. There were not a lot of wildflowers for the show because of the drought. We were finished setting up the exhibit a little before lunch. We even had time to key out the difficult plant groups. But this year was a different story!  There were so many flowers in jars. SO MANY waiting to be processed and placed on the appropriate tables. Judy, Karen and Charlotte gave us direction and Naomi and I set off identifying. We were nowhere close to being finished by the time lunch crept up on us. Judy and Charlotte decided on John's Pizza for lunch.

John's Pizza: Lunch break

Lunch was very satisfying. It was nice to sit down and rest for a bit. I didn't realize how much we had been on our feet going back and forth from table to table. Judy's lovely husband, Gene joined us for lunch. After lunch we had to jet back to the show. There was so much work to be done.

Amazing! So much Asteraceae

Naomi and I placed plants on the tables like crazy botanists. Just when we thought we were almost finished identifying all of the plants, a new group of people would show up with even more plants! The desert is amazing! It is so resilient and full of beautiful botanical splendors.

Upclose and personal with Wildflowers

I'm so glad that we were able to make the trip up to Ridgecrest to help with the wildflower show. It was a great pleasure to reunite with Kathy, Charlotte, Judy and Karen. It was also a great feeling gaging how much I have grown my botanical knowledge and knowing that there is so much more to learn. I can't wait for next spring, to return to Ridgecrest for the next Wildflower exhibit.

Golden Eagles, Bowling Pins and Rainbows

March 28th through the 30th, I was ever so eager to return to my study site. This time Joy England, a Master's student conducting a flora in the Upper Rock Creek Watershed, joined me in the field. I was glad that Joy agreed to assist me with collecting. She has a beautiful study site in the high Sierra with alpine plants and riparian splendors (including trout). Inhabiting the desert for a couple of days would be a new experience for her. It sure was quite the trip. We experienced some of the harshest obstacles the desert has to offer (gale force winds, cold nights, warm afternoons, nighttime rain). Despite all of that, the Wilderness gave us a lot to walk away with. I can't believe how well the Wilderness is doing. Each time I return, new fields of wildflowers cover the ground.

Sage Canyon. 

For this trip we decided to explore the southern canyons. My last trip out with Sarah De Groot proved that the southern end of the Kiavah Wilderness is where its at.

Day 1
Friday, March 28th

Joy and I are not morning people. In fact we are very similar in many ways. We both work in the herbarium and we work well together. Waking up at 6:00 am is not easy us but we did it, for the sake of the Scodies. We jumped into the field vehicle and set off into the sun-rise towards the Wilderness.

I returned to Cow Haven Canyon to see if Phacelia was in flower. When we reached our destination I immediately noticed illegal tire tracks and a broken wilderness boundary signs. I'm getting tired of seeing this over and over again. It seems to be worse this year.

Joy holding a broken Wilderness sign. Tire tracks
within the wilderness boundary

We marched on and hunted for new flowering plants. On the drive up, I explained to Joy that we might see golden eagles. I wasn't certain but I had a strange feeling we would see them. The last time I saw a golden eagle in the Kiavah Wilderness was June 2012. About fifteen minutes into the hike looking down at the ground, I picked up my eyes and saw a large golden eagle soar 50 yards overhead. I exclaimed, "GOLDEN EAGLE!" Joy looked up and was awestruck . We could see its golden nape with our naked eye. The eagle must have noticed that we locked in on it and it jetted out of the canyon. This was the first time Joy had seen a golden eagle. She said it was on her list of birds to see. In fact over the next couple of days in the afternoon we would periodically spot the eagles riding the jet streams.

Can you spot the two species? I promise there are two different

 plants in this photo

Cow Haven Canyon had many botanical treasures for us to discover. We documented the flowering species and moved on to Sage Canyon.

Sage Canyon is aways full of surprises and bowling pins (ok, it's not full of bowling pins. But we did stumble upon one. I wonder how we could fit that onto a herbarium sheet). It was my favorite canyon last year because of its sheer beauty. I have a soft spot for this canyon. I was excited to find plants in it this time.

OMG. I have no words for this rare find 

Diplacus aurantiacus. Weirdo blooming early

Crassula connata! I was excited to finally find this little one 

What are you doing Cuscuta growing on Gilia!?

Phacelia fremontii in dense patches

 After a full day of exploring we setup camp, ate dinner and hit the hay.

Day 2
Saturday, March 29th

In the morning we packed up camp and headed to Horse Canyon. Horse Canyon is very large. There is a lot of territory that I have not yet covered. I've had my eye on Horse Canyon Spring since last year.  I was glad that I finally had a reason to venture to it. We hiked up an old road and found even more in bloom.

Parking at the wilderness boundary, Horse Canyon Spring here we come

How could this be a California desert?

Prunus andersonii in full flower

Joy taking a break on the job

After we explored the spring we decided to go to the top of the canyon. It was time to see what the conditions were like higher up in the mountains. To my surprise there were plants in bloom! Microsteris gracilis blanketed the ground and vibrant red Castilleja were in full flower. This wilderness is seriously messing with my mind.
As the temperature dropped and the wind pummeled us to exhaustion, we decided to call it a day and setup camp.

I can usually sleep anywhere without a problem. However, this particular night will forever be known as the night I tried to sleep but never did. The wind beat against the tent all night. It never let down. I listened to the rainfly flap about in agony and all I could think about was sleep. Finally I said out load, "I can't sleep." In which Joy replied, "me too." I was shocked to hear her voice clear as day. And then it started to rain! Rain was falling! It was a strange mix of sleepless emotions. Hooray! Rain in the Scodies! Ugh, I'm so tired. Yay, rain! And then we felt water seep into the tent. That was our cue to pack up camp and sleep in the field vehicle…. at 2:00 am!

Day 3
Sunday, March 30th

My plans to collect on Sunday were hampered by the weather. It was COLD and windy and COLD. The clouds hung over the Scodies in defiance. They weren't going anywhere but the rain had stopped. Joy and I started the vehicle at 6:15 a.m. and began our drive out of the Wilderness. Then we looked back into Horse Canyon and saw SNOW on the mountains! It was beautiful! I couldn't believe my eyes. Then a rainbow appeared! As if things couldn't get any better. The rainbow arched over the entire Wilderness. I wanted to yell, "WHOA. What does it mean?" In reference to the viral youtube video, Double Rainbow. (I can say that I totally understand his heartfelt emotions over a rainbow)

Socked in snow capped Scodies. A nice light dusting 

"What does it mean?" 

A rainbow arched over the scodies

This trip was filled with adventure and new discoveries. We got to experience golden eagles soaring overhead, crazy plants doing crazy things, and a beautiful morning rainbow after the rain. Joy was a delightful field assistant. I'm so glad she was with me on this trip. Even though we experienced some rough desert conditions, she was a great sport about it all. I can't wait to go to Rock Creek to assist her in the field.

Weekend Warriors

Thursday, March 20th- 23rd, 2014, will be a field trip for the memory bank.

It was a trip chocked-full of collecting. Sarah De Groot, a recent PhD graduate, assisted me in the field for three fun-filled days. There was so much to see and collect. The wildflowers were going crazy, especially the Gilia. Sarah decided that Horse Canyon will now forever be known as Gilia Lake Canyon. There was so much Gilia, is was out of control.
I am so thankful that the last rain event spurred this much growth. I can't believe that it was the right amount of water at the right time.

The field days for this trip were very long. Therefore, I've decided to document this trip as a photo-log with intermittent text.

We left RSABG Thursday afternoon and reached Bird Springs Pass around 8:00 pm. We set up camp, ate dinner and then it was lights out.

Day1
Friday, March 21st

I was glad to be back in my study site. I have been obsessing about it in my head. Where to go next? What will I find? Which canyon will be producing?
In the morning we started my mini project, "A Flora of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Kiavah Wilderness."

Bird Springs Pass. PCT trailhead

We collected and collected and collected.

Tragopogon dubious (?) a non-native 

Chamaesyce sp. So tiny. I have a soft spot for little plants

Lupinus concinnus. Common but cute

A different Poppy! Not the CA poppy!

Nama sp. and Eschscholzia sp. Beautiful spring colors!

After spending hours documenting the PCT we decided to check out the west side of Bird Spring Pass. To my surprise is was slightly on the dryer side but producing more than last year.

Green as far as the eye can see. Bird Spring Canyon

Although there were plants on the west side, the diversity was not happening. We collected what we could and moved on to Cane Canyon. Cane Canyon was disappointing. Lots of broken glass and trash and nothing much in flower. We drove over to Cholla Canyon and set up camp.

Welcome to Cholla Canyon

Day 2
Saturday, March 22nd

Camp at the end of Cholla Canyon Road

We broke camp and started our hike towards a large rock outcrop.

Sarah leading the way to the outcrop

Pterostegia drymarioides 

Cucurbita palmata 

Eriogonum sp. Tiny cute annual buckwheat

The plants in the rock outcrop were interesting but when we hiked up the sandy slope, things got really interesting.

A lupine and Camissonia claviformis

A capitate Gilia 

Bunches of California poppies

One of the most beautiful natural floral bouquets 

We ventured towards the end of the left side of the canyon and found even more!

Salvia carduacea!

Salvia habitat

Leaving Cholla Canyon as the clouds rolled in

We left Cholla Canyon in the evening and drove to Short Canyon. We were almost malled by a pack of "domesticated" dogs. Before the owner let his dogs loose, he reassured us that his dogs would not attack us. However, they came bolting after us, biting at our collecting bags and pants. We showed no fear and the owner hollered at his dogs to return to him.

Short Canyon was not short of surprises, it's where we possibly made a noteworthy collection of a fern!

Notholaena californica. Possibly the first record for Kern county!

Check out the chalky surface of this fern

We collected what we could and decided to go over to Walker Pass Campground to put my specimens in the drying press and then we called it a night.

Day 3
Sunday, March 23rd

In the morning I decided to go back to Horse Canyon. Last Saturday Horse Canyon was pretty impressive and I wanted to see how much it had changed in a weeks time. We started down Highway 178. I was explaining to Sarah how well the BLM portion near the highway was doing the last time I was there with Tommy Stoughton. We parked in a turnout and dropped into a wash to find a beautiful display of hundreds and thousands little flowers in bloom.
We collected what we could and realized that we could have spent the entire day in this one wash. But time was running short and we had to get over to Horse Canyon to see it in all of its glory.

Highway 178 desert wash. A lone Leptosyne

Bunches of Malacothrix glabrata on the bank of the wash

I hate ants, but I love them in their natural habitat 

A happy little sun cup

Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia. Finally! My first collection of it

Horse Canyon

We made it over to Horse Canyon and it was amazing! In over a week, the hillsides were painted with more color. More blue from Gila, more yellow from Leptosyne and orange from the poppies. I drove up the switchbacks to see how high in elevation things were growing.

And then I had to photo document something that continues to be a threat to my study site. OHV trespassing. Ugh. Seriously. Come on. Fresh tire tracks could be seen in the sandy soil. It seems that this year there is more illegal tire tacks in the Wilderness compared to last year. I also documented many broken "no motorized vehicles past this point" signs. I'm pretty upset that people feel the need to destroy signage and the Wilderness.

 The signs are not working. Spike strips might halt illegal activity

I call them the three sisters. I've been keeping a close eye on them. First time seeing bloom

Astragalus sp. such vibrant colors

An Allium sp. ? about to bloom!

Our last collections for the trip

Overall it was a super productive collecting adventure. Sarah was an amazing field assistant. It was an intense three days in the field because we collected and pressed so many specimens. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I can't wait to go back.