Notes from the field: New taxa and desert perennials

By Svetlana Iachkova, Seed Bank Field Coordinator

Desert lavender (Condea emoryi) seeds.

The dry winter and spring greatly affected the availability of seeds for collection from annual plants, so the field team has been focusing on perennials and desert mountain habitat. Desert perennial shrubs are seemingly unphased by the lack of precipitation and the team made several sizable collections, including desert lavender (Condea emoryi), desert pepperweed (Lepidium fremontii), pygmy cedar (Peucephyllum schottii), and desert holly (Atriplex hymenelytra). At higher elevations, they collected Palmer’s penstemon (Penstemon palmeri), rose heath (Chaetopappa ericoides), lobeleaf groundsel (Packera multilobata), and Navajo fleabane (Erigeron concinnus), and are monitoring several other species to collect later in the season. 

So far this year, the team has added 11 new taxa to the conservation seed bank.

Opuntia phaecantha in flower.

Opuntia chlorotica in Mojave National Preserve.

Cacti are in full bloom, and the team is gearing up to make collections of several species, including calico cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii), pancake prickly pear (Opuntia chlorotica), and buckhorn cholla (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa).

The field team has been working on building up our seed collecting volunteers. In May, new volunteers were trained and have been instrumental in helping make large collections for the seed bank. 

Seed team and volunteers Lizbeth and Sally show off their Stillingia linearifolia collection.

If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up here or email Mackenzie@mdlt.org for more information.