I have been seeing so many beautiful flowering plants so far this spring I thought I would share them with you! These are some of my favorite plants so far on the SBNF.
This is the Forest Service sensitive Mojave paintbrush (Castilleja plagiotoma). It is endemic to the SBNF and is the host plant for the larvae of the watch list Checkerspot butterfly.
The scale bud (Anisocoma acaulis) is one of my favorite desert annuals on the SBNF.
The mojave mound cactus (Echinocereus mojavensis).
I have seen this adorable San Diego coast horned lizard twice now on the forest! It plays dead to catch bugs to eat and is a watch list species on the SBNF.
This beautiful ash-gray paintbrush (Castilleja cinerea) is federally threatened and only found in the San Bernadino mountains.
Ivesia agryocoma
The flowers of the Forest Service sensitive silver-haired ivesia (Ivesia agryocoma).
Forest Service sensitive Parish’s rock cress (Boechera parishii) is endemic to the San Bernadino mountains.
Forest Service sensitive Peirson’s spring beauty (Claytonia lanceolata var. peirsonii).
Another Forest Service sensitive Phlox dolichantha.
This is the Forest Service sensitive Parish’s alumroot (Heuchera parishii).
The Forest Service sensitive Coville’s dwarf abronia (Abronia nana ssp. covellei).
This is my first rattlesnake that I have seen out in the field.
The beautiful flowers of Yucca schidigera.
This is beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris).
In terms of work, I have been surveying some potential OHV routes out on a high desert area of the forest, which is where I have taken many of the these photos. There also has been a bit of survey work on a limestone mining claim. Limestone has many endemic plant species, not to mention federally threatened and endangered ones as well.
There are so many TESW (Threatened, endangered, sensitive and watch) plant species here, I have been spending a decent amount of my time entering those data into the federal database.
I attended a Poaceae workshop with many of my colleagues, which was very informative and very fun. I also took a trip back to Joshua Tree NP on my personal time and was rewarded with lots of wildflowers and pleasant temperatures.