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.
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.
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)
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.
We had a field trip out to Joshua Tree National Park and found this rare little beauty-Coryphantha alversonii, Foxtail cactus.
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! 
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!
An exciting snakeskin find!
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. 
And our best suprise, the rare penstemon-Penstemon fruticiformis var. amargosae!
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.
