Calochortus brumeaunis

Lupinus argentus var. argentus

So what does a seed scouting mission look like? Scouting for seeds takes a surprising amount of time and effort, and my technique for doing the scouting is an evolving process. Here’s what it looks like at the moment:
Monday, I went out scouting. I was scouting for two Crepis species, C. acuminata and C. occidentalis, two hours north in the Bodie Hills. At my first stop I found plenty of C. acuminata, and also stopped to key out and collect a specimen of Calochortus brumeaunis. My next stop was further up the highway. I was concentrating of finding Crepis occidentatlis, as I had not seen any sign of it at my first stop. While I did find lots of the other Crepis species that I was looking for, I could not positively identify C. occidentalis. Instead I identify a large population of Lupinus argentus var. argentus, for which I collected a few voucher specimens in case I decide to go back to collect seeds. My last stop was supposed to check out a population of lupine and prickly phlox further into the Bodie Hills. After surviving road construction delays, and bumpy dirt roads, I turned into the pasture through which I had to pass to get to these two dense clumps of plants. About a quarter of the way down the road I found myself at a stream crossing that had not been there the week before when we found the populations. But I had heard stories about people getting stuck at this spot in the mud. I got out of the truck to look at it. It was 18 inches deep. I could go through and have accomplished something with my afternoon, or I could get stuck, and have to call in to get someone to unstick me from the mud. I decided to back up and try to find another population.

Crepis acuminata