2015 has not been a very good year for flora. Nevertheless, out in the Mojave National Preserve (which is actually the central Mojave Desert), thanks to the knowledge, experience and scouting skills of our Jepson workshop leaders Jim Andre and Tasha La Doux, we were able to find and enjoy a great many species in bloom and many rare plants. We did have to do a bit more driving than has been customary on most other workshops I've attended (15 now) but it was totally worth it. The scenery in the East Mojave alone is spectacular. We were extremely fortunate to have with us for the entire workshop Ronald B. Kelley, the main author for the family Boraginaceae in the Jepson Manual, 2nd edition, and a person who has spent countless hours in the field over a wide geographic area studying such genera as Cryptantha, Pectocarya, Plagiobothrys, and Amsinckia, and has a deep understanding of these and many other genera. We were blessed with good weather, cool though windy nights, and sunny days with temperatures in the 70s and low 80s. I was pleased to see some old friends and make some new ones, and there were even three dogs to help me not miss mine so much. The Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center managed by Jim and Tasha is about 80 miles east of Barstow just off I-40. In addition to several hours spent before the group meet on Thursday, I took several hours Sunday afternoon to drive up through the Reserve, stopping about a dozen places to see some species that we had not encountered during the workshop. An upside-down V next to the common name indicates a taxon that was new to me on this field trip, while an asterisk is for a non-native species. |
