Shasta Chapter CNPS is pleased to announce that this year’s Chapter-sponsored Northern California Botanists (NCB) Barbara Castro Memorial Student Botany Research Scholarship went to Chenjiao Deng, a Ph.D. candidate at U.C. Davis.
Northern California Botanists provides a scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students conducting research on botanical topics in northern California. Each year, Shasta Chapter CNPS provides funding to Northern California Botanists for an additional $1500 Research Scholarship. In addition to NCB’s general scholarship criteria, the recipient of the Shasta Chapter-funded scholarship must meet at least one of the following two criteria: (1) the student’s research topic is relevant to the flora within the boundaries of the Shasta Chapter; or (2) the student hails from the Shasta Chapter CNPS area.
The NCB research scholarship committee shared, “Chenjiao is studying the phylogenomic and species delimitation of the genus Sidalcea (Malvaceae). Her research aims to resolve taxonomic ambiguity and figure out the correct identities and phylogenetic relationships among five Sidalcea species and subspecies native to California. All five studied Sidalcea species can be found within the four counties of the Shasta Chapter area of interest.”
Photo by Chenjiao Deng.
Photo by Chenjiao Deng.
Here’s what Chenjiao has to say about her ongoing research:
I am a Ph.D. student at UC Davis studying the evolutionary history and classification of the plant genus Sidalcea (in the mallow family, Malvaceae). My project seeks to build the first comprehensive “family tree” of Sidalcea and to clear up long-standing confusion about how certain species are related. Some species are difficult to tell apart just by looking at them, which has led to taxonomic uncertainty. To solve this, I will use advanced DNA sequencing techniques: one method (Angiosperm353 target capture) will give a broad view of relationships across the entire genus, while another method (genotyping-by-sequencing) will focus on carefully defining the boundaries between five especially tricky species that look alike and grow in the same areas (S. asprella, S. celata, S. elegans, S. gigantea, and S. glaucescens). This work will help clarify the status of particular species as rare or threatened, which is crucial for conservation planning. It will also support the creation of a clearer and more practical field guide, so botanists and conservationists can more easily identify Sidalcea plants in the field.
All five of the problematic species occur in the Shasta CNPS chapter area, where their overlapping distributions make surveys and conservation work particularly challenging. By resolving these taxonomic puzzles, this project will improve our understanding of the region’s flora and provide useful tools for future field studies. I am very grateful for the award supporting this work, which will help cover my field and sequencing expenses.
Photo taken May 19, 2024, by Matt Harrison.
The Shasta Chapter CNPS wishes Chenjiao all the best in her future botanical endeavors. We will hope to hear an update from her, sharing her fascinating research findings, someday in the future! ~Shasta Chapter CNPS