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Field Trip: California Native Plant Month Bioblitz at Robert Manning Ranch
As part of California Native Plant Month, this special bioblitz offers a chance to document native plants and wildlife on a privately accessible ranch in East County, where chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and desert-transition habitat come together in a botanically rich and still under-surveyed landscape.
Every year, CNPS members and botanists aim to document species thriving along the artificial edge of the US–Mexico border, where land use history and natural history meet a complex present-day landscape. Robert Manning has generously allowed the group to visit and document the plants and critters found on his extensive property so that the rare species there can be better recorded for the future.
Covered in huge boulders and rocky outcrops, the parcel supports mixed chaparral and coastal sage scrub within a desert transition zone, so expect to see a broad range of species. Many rare plants are found in the locality, but La Posta Road remains under-surveyed. While participants are welcome to document everything they find in iNaturalist, the group will be especially on the lookout for blooming Southern jewelflower (Streptanthus campestris, CNPS 1B.3), Desert beauty (Linanthus bellus, CNPS 2B.1), Pride of California / Campo pea (Lathyrus splendens, CNPS 4.3), Sticky geraea (Geraea viscida, CNPS 2B.2), and Jacumba milkvetch (Astragalus douglasii var. perstrictus, CNPS 1B.2), among others.
→ CNPS rare plant ranks indicate conservation concern. In general, 1B and 2B denote plants of high conservation concern, while 4 indicates plants of more limited distribution that merit monitoring.
As the group carefully observes the land and wildlife, documentation through iNaturalist will support the Border Bioblitz, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and CDFW rare species maps. Come prepared for the weather and terrain. Rattlesnakes are a great find to document, but please give them space.
New to iNaturalist and field botany? You are very welcome to come observe and take pictures, learn as you go, and meet others with a shared interest in plants and the field.
Please RSVP via Meetup here.
Photo credit: Erika Daniels