Nemacladathon at Pinnacles?

@nrmorin @arbonius @keirmorse @euproserpinus @catchang @damontighe @dgreenberger @tiwane @kueda @matsonburger

Hi all,
This journal post is my attempt to see if anyone is interested in hunting for Nemacladus at Pinnacles this spring. I've started to get a pretty good bead on Nemacladus secundiflorus var. robbinsii, thanks to input from Nancy Morin (Nemacladus treatment author), and to some help from some of you in finding new locations (and my own searches), but we can always benefit from more records. It's some other potential species I am really interested in exploring:

Nemacladus ramosissimus

Nemacladus gracilis

Nemacladus gracilis has always been on our plant list, and we have two herbarium specimens. You can't really key it from the specimens, though, since the flowers don't really preserve well. To me, it looks like N.s.robbinsii and Nancy also thought that likely and noted N. gracilis was used as a bucket for a lot of inconspicuous Nemacladus in "the old days" that have now been identified as distinct species. Still, she says it would not be at all surprising to find it at PINN. The herbarium records, if you are interested: https://museum.nps.gov/ParkObjdet.aspx?rID=PINN%20%20%20%201768%26db%3Dobjects%26dir%3DCR%20PINN%26page%3D46
https://museum.nps.gov/ParkObjdet.aspx?rID=PINN%20%20%20%201322%26db%3Dobjects%26dir%3DCR%20PINN%26page%3D46

Nemacladus ramosissimus has never been listed from PINN, but I came across these photos from Keir Morse on CalPhotos: https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=308099&one=T and https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=308102&one=T. He said they really ARE from Pinnacles and they were initially IDed as N. gracilis but Nancy corrected them to N. ramosissimus. He said he recalls them being in a gap in chaparral a little ways upslope of the Old Pinn trail.

So, this means I have good reason to believe this species has been cryptically hanging out at Pinnacles flying under the radar.

If anyone is interested in looking for (and documenting) this and any other Nemacladus, please comment. You could either just come on your own, or if folks are interested, I could reserve an administrative campsite (aka free) for folks and we could have a mini plant-a-thon and/or mini bioblitz.

Depending on timing and interest, folks could also look for the undescribed (in prep) Jewelflower species at Pinnacles, as well as other rare plants like Eriogonum nortonii or whatever else you are interested in.

Other interested nature nerds are welcome, though we'll need to keep it a manageable sized group.

Amelia Ryan
Vegetation Ecologist
Pinnacles National Park

Publicado el diciembre 11, 2021 05:57 TARDE por abr abr

Comentarios

Hi Amelia- always up for helping look for tiny tiny flowers. Perhaps post which weeks you think will have the best chance as we get closer to bloom. Happy winter to you and your partner! Cat

Publicado por catchang hace más de 2 años

I'm interested if I can work it into my schedule. It's a long drive for me but I could maybe couple it with some useful stops on the way there or back.

Publicado por keirmorse hace más de 2 años

Totally down for a Nemacladathon and/or general PINN exploration. @ang might also be interested (she infected me with nemacladaphilia), and this is definitely @leptonia territory too.

Publicado por kueda hace más de 2 años

@leptonia let's

Publicado por dgreenberger hace más de 2 años

@leptonia - This might be a good time of year to look for these as well:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3703737

Publicado por euproserpinus hace más de 2 años

@kueda thanks for the heads up! @abr I am all in (provided the phenology / scheduling works out).
@dgreenberger let's do it

Publicado por leptonia hace más de 2 años

I am interested! I very much enjoyed the last miniBioblitz in 2019 and did not get to spend nearly enough times on my hands in knees looking at small flowers

Publicado por damontighe hace más de 2 años

Whoops, just seeing this. Thanks for tagging me, Ken-ichi! I'm definitely interested.

Publicado por ang hace alrededor de 2 años

@gbentall Would yo be interested?

Publicado por abr hace alrededor de 2 años

@catchang @kueda @leptonia @euproserpinus @keirmorse @ang @dgreenberger @damontighe @arbonius

Hi all,

Looking at the data for the two nemacladus species I am interested in, it looks like peak collection for Nemacladus ramosissimus in central California is April and peak collection for Nemacladus secundiflorus var. robbinsii is May. Pinnacles jewelflower has been found late March to late April. Thus, I was thinking perhaps late April? Many of you have 9-5s, so I was assuming perhaps a weekend would work best? That narrows it to April 16-17 or April 23-24. Third option (very late for jewelflower, but who knows how it will do this year) is April 30-May 1. Please weigh in with your preferences. Caveats: 1) Pinnacles is very busy on April Weekends, so while I can provide a free campsite, expect busy trails and facilities, and 2) it can be quite warm by the time April closes, so be prepared for heat. It can also still rain, too.

Publicado por abr hace alrededor de 2 años

1: 4/16
2: 4/23
can't: 4/30

Publicado por dgreenberger hace alrededor de 2 años

I could do the weekend of the 16th or 30th with a preference for the 16th. Nope to the 23rd.

Publicado por keirmorse hace alrededor de 2 años

Based on the weather so far, I'm betting on an early season. So 4/16 might be wise at this point.

Publicado por euproserpinus hace alrededor de 2 años

I am on for 4/16. Agree that the season so far is phenologically ahead of schedule

Publicado por leptonia hace alrededor de 2 años

Okay, sounds like 4/16 is looking good for everyone so far...

Publicado por abr hace alrededor de 2 años

Currently available for all proposed weekends.

Publicado por kueda hace alrededor de 2 años

Also available for all proposed weekends.

Publicado por catchang hace alrededor de 2 años

Oh- 4/17 is Easter. Is the park quieter and less crowded then?

Publicado por catchang hace alrededor de 2 años

I forgot about Easter, but since that weekend seems to be best I reserved our Administrative Campsite for that weekend starting Friday. The park will probably not see any dip in visitation: maybe the contrary, though possibly Sunday morning will be a little quieter.

Publicado por abr hace alrededor de 2 años

Weekend of 4/16 works for me!

Publicado por ang hace alrededor de 2 años

@catchang @kueda @leptonia @euproserpinus @keirmorse @ang @dgreenberger @damontighe @arbonius @leptonia
Hi all, are you still interested in coming to Pinnacles to look for rare and unusual annuals ? It's been a weird rain year and the Pinnacles Jewelflower does not seem to have germinated much. I can't say what kind of Nemacladus year it will be, though of course I still hope it will "come out." If it is a bust, we can just look for other things or shift focus to perennials, but I did want to give a heads up. The camp site is still being held. What do folks think?

Publicado por abr hace casi 2 años
Publicado por abr hace casi 2 años

I'm down! I blocked off the weekend of 4/16.

Publicado por kueda hace casi 2 años

I'm still interested. I may have to leave early on Sunday but I should be able to be there much of Friday and all of Saturday.

Publicado por keirmorse hace casi 2 años

Yep, I’ve blocked off the weekend and even told my team I’m not working on Friday.

Publicado por catchang hace casi 2 años

@abr I would have still liked to come (even if it wasn't a great Nemacladus Boon!) but I got some work out of town that weekend, so alas I'm not going to be able to make it. Sorry to miss this one, and sorrier still to miss a chance to be in the field with all you folks!

Publicado por leptonia hace casi 2 años

I'm still down!

Publicado por ang hace casi 2 años
Publicado por abr hace casi 2 años
Publicado por dgreenberger hace casi 2 años

I sent out an email with maps and more, but don't have everyone's address. Here is the gist:

Entering the park
I have arranged to waive the entrance fee. I will drop off some passes at our entrance station for you. Identify yourself as volunteering for Amelia to survey for rare plants and give your name. Could you let me know if you will be carpooling or won’t be coming (unless you already did) so I can save some paper writing out passes? If no one is at the entrance station, don’t worry about it, just proceed in to the park/campsites.

Camping
I have reserved an administrative campsite for all of you. Our administrative campsite location has changed. It is now between our overflow parking and the creek. Turn towards campground and pass store. Ture LEFT instead of right and pass pool. Campsites to right past Camp Hosts. See map at the bottom of this email. You will be sharing our administrative camping area with a couple other biologists doing work in the park: Alex Michel who is assisting with our Prairie Restoration monitoring and Rose Mohammadi who is a stream ecology researcher. Just spread out and take over whatever area is not in use. There are a couple parking spots labelled Authorized Vehicles only, and you are authorized. Otherwise there is plenty of adjacent parking. There is water opposite the campsite, picnic tables, fire rings, and food lockers. WATCH OUT for fearless raccoon thieves. Secure your food at all times!

Weather and Safety
The weather is spring like. Cold at night and there is possible rain on Saturday morning. Friday night low=42, Saturday high=66 low=37, Sunday sunny with a high=74. https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=36.47075&lon=-121.147278#.Yldjcjim02y

We will have a couple folks with radios, but most of you will not. If you are going off trail, I am trusting you to know what you are doing and know your limits. Please make sure to bring enough food and water and be very careful off trail not to twist an ankle. It won’t be too hot so I probably don’t need to go into dehydration info at length, but it is often a big issue here.

Charging phones/cameras
On Saturday I can show anyone who needs an area to charge their phones or other batteries. It is separate from the campsite, though (near the Old PINN trailhead) so plan accordingly.

Meeting up and Survey Areas
My default is to swing by the campsites at ~8 am on Saturday and discuss routes and species. I will bring some coffee and bakery treats for anyone that likes. If it is very cold and wet we can go to our meeting/rec barn and look over routes and species ID info until the rain pauses. Rain is supposed to finish by 11 am and we won’t have to worry about heat, at least. Is ANYONE planning to leave much earlier such that they would prefer to meet the night before? LET ME KNOW ASAP. If needed, I can come to the park Friday. Otherwise, I will be working from home. My cell is 707-481-9932, should you need it.

For those interested, we can proceed to Old Pinn Trailhead from the campsite. I can take interested parties to look for the Pinnacles Jewelflower near the trailhead (but we may not find it) and look for Nemacladus secundiflorus var. robbinsii and the possible location of N. ramosissimus. All are in the general vicinity. Then folks can disperse to hike and search.

Please tell me if you are a comfortable off trail and have navigation equipment. If not, there are also many areas along trails.

Potential areas to survey include: Old Pinn and its side canyons, North Wilderness and its side canyons (Such as Black Gulch and Marin); McCabe and its side canyons, and Highway 25 and East Entrance Road side canyons. Possibly South Wilderness, as well. Let me know if you have particular areas of interest. See map below with general areas indicated.

Species of Interest:
Nemacladus secundiflorus var. robbinsii
Nemacladus ramosissimus (possibly photographed here by Keir Morse)
Nemacladus gracilis
Streptanthus sp. nova
Streptanthus glandulosus
Gilia tenuiflora
Eriogonum nortonii
Clarkia breweri
Eriastrum virgatum
Monardella douglasi
…Any other rare or interesting species…

Genera of interest (with possible unresolved taxa)
Camissonia sp. (contorta/strigulosa or campestris)
Lithophragma sp. (need both leaf and flower pics)
Erythranthe sp.
Pentacheata sp.
Layia sp.
Leptosyne sp.
Chorizanthe sp.

Documenting your finds
Please take a picture of any suspected interesting plant with the geotag feature ON. Then, ideally, please add it to iNaturalist.

Publicado por abr hace casi 2 años

@ang and I are carpooling and coming on Friday. We’ll be there at Saturday morning meeting.

Publicado por catchang hace casi 2 años

I just downloaded my photos and they don't have GPS points, so I'm going to have to approximate. I usually do a track log in GaiaGPS but that app stopped working when I updated it right before the trip. And, while my camera had the GPS on, it was apparently set to not record the GPS location. Yay!

Publicado por keirmorse hace casi 2 años

my observations are up. I obscured everything that was off official trials figuring the project will pull it in and make the locations available to you. I had a great time, thanks for organizing.

Publicado por damontighe hace casi 2 años

All mine are uploaded now too. It's awesome to see all the Nemacladus on the map. Clearly more Nemacladathons need to be done both in and out of the park.

Publicado por keirmorse hace casi 2 años

Keir, I don't know if you were able to remedy the difficulties w/ your GPS points (or how precisely you can estimate locations from memory + satellite view)...but I took photos of most the plants you found on Sunday so (hopefully!) the GPS coords of my posts will help tack down most the stations for your finds (once I get them posted, which often takes me a while ;-).

I also found a few more spots w/ numerous Nemacladus secundiflorus ssp. robbinsii, and at least one more N. ramosissimus station, further up McCabe Canyon after Keir had to head back around 2pm.

It was good to spend some time w/ you all...thank you, you're wonderful folks! Agree that more Nemacladathons (+ other Nema-searching) would be nice & helpful...e.g. for N. gracilis in areas like Corral Hollow to Panoche to Carrizo, and (to add to Ryan & Amelia's previous finds) N. californicus & N. capillaris in areas from Clear Creek (and north?) to Carrizo...and others species (described...and undescribed?) in the southern Sierra and (my paradise ;-) "SNE & D" ;-)

Publicado por arbonius hace casi 2 años

@arbonius Thanks! I think I got most of my locations pretty close based on memory and looking at other peoples observations.

Publicado por keirmorse hace casi 2 años

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