Flowers bring us to the most beautiful places

We both had our own ideas about what it would be like to search for a flower on a mountain with multiple trails and multiple habitats; for a flower on a mountain that was last recorded over 100 years ago. We knew the job would be challenging, and we could anticipate how long it would take to find a single flower – a whole day seemed rational. But we didn’t know what it would feel like to finally come upon that flower after searching for it for hours.  We found out that it is probably the most joyous feelings a field botanist can ever feel. Aside from feeling wild and free- exuberant, even-  in the beautiful places we found ourselves in, it is an unbeatable euphoria.

On day 1 of our 14 day journey in Klamath County, Hugo and I started our venture at Grizzly Peak. There, we were introduced to how the summer was going to be like for us. We rose early and drove to our destination – up miles of dirt road that gave my vehicle the first dirt bath of many to come. By the time we reached the trailhead, the sun was near its pinnacle in the clear blue sky above. So many flowers were in bloom by our feet. I felt invigorated by the seemingly simple nature of our duty on the mountain; to look at the flowers! An absolute dream job.

A cool breeze moved with us up the mountain trail. We knew that we were heading toward a south-facing slope on the mountain, and we would need to hike the westerly trail long enough until it curved around and sent us south. About 4 miles up-trail, we came upon a vast, south-facing meadow. We were trying to locate a population of Saxifraga integrifolia, an erect plant 5-14 inches tall with basal leaves and little white flowers. I imagined that the Saxifrage would be growing in a sunny and rocky area, so every rock in that meadow under the noon sun looked like a perfect habitat. It was pretty clear that we were not in the right place, though, because there were plants growing there that preferred moistness, like Thalictrum occidentalis, Claytonia sibrica and Actaea rubra. It was hard to abandon the meadow, however. I blame those little white flowers of Claytonia, and all the boulders jutting out from the floor. They all looked like potential Saxifrages. It was our first lesson in how difficult it can be to relieve ourselves from a search – we didn’t want to overlook the plant we were searching for. It was incredibly hard to break away.

Hugo and I were separated by a long distance in the meadow, moving through it and the forest that lied ahead. We could see that there was a meadow beyond the forest, and we could feel that we were heading towards the summit of Grizzly Peak. We kept walking through this meadow until we came to the very top of the mountain – a humble outcrop of basalt. Surely this would be the place where we found our Saxifrage? Indeed not: nothing but onions and sedum! A beautiful community, but it did not harbor what we were looking for.

The two of us walked together through the meadow on yet another path. We decided to find the trail again and keep on it until we came upon the truly-south-facing slope.

Not too far down the trail on our left was another meadow. Through the trees far beyond we could see Mt. Shasta. Hugo thought that if a botanist 100 years ago had hiked this far up the trail, the sight of the mountain would have drawn them in and perhaps that is where the Saxifrage was recorded.

We split up again and started scanning the meadow floor, looking for that elusive Saxifrage.

Again, tiny white flowers belonging to any plant were playing tricks on my eyes. I kept walking further and further toward the overlook. Suddenly the community changed. It was full of Camassia, possibly leichtlinii, after I keyed it out, though it more had the color of cusickii. There were hundreds of them! Camas is one of my absolute favorite plants, and the striking periwinkle color of all the spikes in full bloom made me drag out my camera and want to take a moment to absorb the beauty of the meadow.

I knelt on the ground and took photos of several.. and there, next to all the Camas was a saxifrage fitting the description of S. integrifolia. We were absolutely elated to have found it. Indeed, after keying it, we knew we had accomplished what we set out to do. What an amazing feeling…

We spent the next couple of hours sitting on the rocks, moving to shade, moving to sun, keying out the community and keeping record of it.

We had spent almost 6 hours looking for and then identifying the Saxifrage and its community. Most of the plants were familiar, such as Holodiscus discolorAchillea millefoliumPseudotsuga menziesii, Pinus ponderosa, and so forth. But the Allium and the Sedum needed to be keyed, as well as the sedges and grasses.

After 13 nights of camping, with miles of trail passed us, and inches of dirt left on the car from all the forest roads, we had a low success rate in finding plants. A lot of changes have occurred in the forest and in the city of Klamath Falls that removed the native plants we were hoping to find. The construction of a waterfront in Klamath Falls has completely destroyed the natural habitat there. All that remains are invasive species. The pine-bark beetle has wrought many forests to near death so fairy-slipper orchids are no longer present. Invasive species of grass have pushed out native ones in areas now used almost solely for recreation.

Klamath County was an incredible way to start our journey. Grizzly Peak was a successful day out of many that did not wind up as successful. Though we don’t always find the plant we’re looking for, we are brought to some truly breathtaking places. We came to vast fields with mountains looming in the distance, to lake beds covered in a blanket of yellow asters, to forests filled with the delicate leaves of whortleberry and creeks saturated with wild leeks. I would be hard-pressed to name my favorite thing about this job. Is it in the way I am brought to strikingly different habitats, trudging through the marshes looking at all the orchids and sedges? Finding little Mitreworts at my feet? Or being in the middle of a vast shrub-steppe land, surrounded by inquisitive songbirds perched on fragrant desert sage? Or is it that feeling I get when we find the plant we’re looking for? Or is it being dusty and tired, starting a campfire and replenishing my energy with good food and a tasty glass of wine, and reminiscing about the hard day’s work with my partner? All of these are integral parts of the job. I cannot imagine a better life!

 

 

 

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