Eureka!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.