An Eye-Opening Week

Yesterday, Friday, was our last hike for collecting plants. We were in a section of the San Jacinto Mountains. The weather on that hike was hot and many of the plants that we saw were very dry. We collected a few different varieties of California Oak, a plant called Eriogonum, ferns and many others. The best discovery, in my opinion, were these tiny plants with woody stems and beautiful purple flowers. I liked that we had to look very closely to the ground to discover them. It is sometimes amazing what we are able to discover upon closer examination.

We collected enough plants and pressed them throughout the week, we did not have to go look for more today! Today, we stayed around the research center, organized data and mailed the dried and pressed flowers to the Smithsonian.

Overall, it has been an eventful week. The focus was on plants but I also saw many desert animals. I saw road runners, a small snake, scorpions, many types of lizards, California Quail and endless varieties of birds. Not only did I learn about plants that I never paid much attention to or know much about; I have come to the conclusion that we live in a species rich and diverse landscaped area.