By Caty Franco (videos and images by the author unless otherwise specified)
Exploring the understory
In 2021 and 2022, the Caldor and Mosquito fires burned large swaths of the Eldorado National Forest and other areas. On a recent, hot summer day, volunteers and staff joined the CNPS Rare Plant Program team in the Eldorado National Forest. Our mission? Collect data and seeds for rare plants that are regrowing in the wake of the Caldor and Mosquito fires. We were excited to find and document the recovery of rare plant species and I was fortunate to tag along and capture highlights from our day together.
Tracking these rare plants is important for a few key reasons. It helps us focus our conservation efforts, shows how well the ecosystem is recovering, and helps preserve the genetic diversity of these plants. When we see these plants coming back, it’s a sign that the environment is healing and that other species might also be recovering. Watching how these plants adapt and grow after the fire helps scientists understand the long-term effects of wildfires and plan better for the future.
Target species
We were especially trying to track down yellow bur navarretia (Navarretia prolifera ssp. lutea), locate areas where it was fruiting, and collect seeds. We also wanted to find Pleasant Valley mariposa lily (Calochortus clavatus var. avius) in bloom and collect a specimen.
When plants like these bloom in large groups, collecting seeds helps preserve and spread these rare native species. Some of these seeds will be planted by the U.S. Forest Service to support local wildlife and maintain the forest’s historically diverse plant and animal population. Monitoring both species helps us gauge the landscape’s recovery and ensures their survival, with seed collection being essential for their long-term conservation.
Covering polygons
We split into groups and hiked to the polygons on our map to search for Navarretia. (Polygons are areas the Rare Plant team has identified as sites where we may find specific plants.) CNPS Field Botanist Jordan Collins showed us how to collect a museum specimen using a field press.
Collecting seeds
The Rare Plant team also showed the rest of us how to collect seeds. We gathered seeds from around 140 different plants, totaling around 6,000 seeds for two different museum collections: California Botanic Garden and our partners at the United States Forest Service. Collecting such a large sample size allows us to have a broad range of genetic diversity across the species for future research. Our fingers got poked by the Navarretia’s sharp seed pods, but more seasoned volunteers shared tips on how to process them, encouraging us to seek out those with nice, medium-to-dark brown seeds ready for harvest, and collect them into small pouches.
While we were collecting, we bonded over the soreness in our legs from all the squatting and shared other relatable fieldwork experiences. This camaraderie inspired us to create a fun Instagram video highlighting common tropes from the field.
At one point, we heard excited shouts from a group that had ventured further, bushwhacking. They had found a patch of Calochortus clavatus var. avius nearby!
Finding Calochortus
Back in the truck, we headed to our next stop, about 20 minutes away, to find Calochortus clavatus var. avius closer to the road. We arrived at a hill dotted with these gorgeous yellow lilies, interspersed with the beautiful purple hues of coyote mint (Monardella villosa) and the bright yellow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum). We moseyed up the hill, taking hundreds of photos. Happy pollinators took naps in the blooms, and we spotted an assortment of bumblebees, butterflies, and carpenter bees.
The views were breathtaking, and the light breeze on the hill was refreshing. Seeing so much life emerging from the Caldor fire scar felt hopeful to us—it was quite literally seeing beauty from ashes!
We collected “accidental samples”—flowers that had naturally broken off—to use for museum samples. Jordan and Kristen demonstrated the sampling process.
The Ride Home
As the day wore on, the heat and hiking took their toll. Those of us not regularly in the field marveled at the Rare Plant team’s resilience. Several of them endure these elements nearly every day for the sake of protecting these rare plants— and this was a light field day for them! Look for more blogs from the field and click the links below to learn more about some of the plants we were tracking.
- Yellow bur navarretia (Navarretia prolifera ssp. lutea) – CNPS Rare Plant Inventory
- Pleasant Valley mariposa lily (Calochortus clavatus var. avius) – CNPS Rare Plant Inventory
Caty Franco is CNPS Strategic Communications Specialist. In her free time, she enjoys tending to her California native plant garden, listening to nerdy podcasts, and managing her pet Instagram (@FrancoPets), featuring her cat, two dogs, and four rescue bunnies.
