I’d spent all day Saturday behind a string-trimmer, and I just couldn’t face a long hike on Sunday. So, for our weekly outing, we went for a long drive instead—in quest of mousetails!
State CNPS has obtained funding for genetic analysis of mousetails (Myosurus spp.) to help sort out the various species, subspecies, and varieties of this diminutive member for the Buttercup Family, some of which may be rare. CNPS Associate Botanist Doug Stone had asked Chapter Rare Plant Coordinators for assistance in collecting mousetails statewide. Earlier this spring, I snagged collections in Corning, Fall River Mills, and Red Bluff, but Doug was particularly interested in collections from the Butte Valley Grasslands, near Dorris, where two species of mousetail were known to co-occur.
So! With silca gel and collection baggies in hand, Laurie & I headed off to the hinterlands of northeastern Siskiyou County. At our first and only stop in the Grasslands, we waded out through sagebrush scrub, straight into a “screamin’ gorgeous” vernal pool. To our immense surprise and delight, we found not one but two, and possibly three, different mousetails! Doug Stone will be pleased!
Take a look at the slideshow, below, to see some photos that I took of a few mousetail associate species. Enjoy! ~Don Burk, Rare Plant Chair
