Communities

Day 231: Well, this one will make my botany partner Joe happy, because he never has been able to pronounce "Suksdorfia," but it leaves us both having to unlearn the name and trying to remember to call it Hemieva ranunculifolia instead. Even the common name has changed. It's no longer "Buttercup Suksdorfia" for obvious reasons. Now it's Buttercup-leaf Mock Brookfoam. Try saying that three times fast. I dare ya.

One of the "secret techniques" I use when searching for rare plants is to look for other plants which I know to be associated with my target species. They may or may not have any physical link ("association"), but they prefer the same habitats. For example, we know that Aphyllon purpureum is parasitic on specific sedums. This is a direct association, i.e., if the sedum is not present, neither is Aphyllon. However, both the sedums and Hemieva enjoy the same habitat (areas where the roots of the plant can remain cool and moist), so it makes sense to seek out Aphyllon where the two occur together. Of course, there are no guarantees. You could spend days searching through Hemieva's buttercup-like leaves and the fleshy foliage of the sedums without finding a single example of Aphyllon, but it's a place to start. There is quite a bit of information on plant communities on line, so sometimes I do my preliminary leg-work on the internet, reading research papers, trying to determine which associations I might find in our area. Perforce, plants in California will have a different circle of "friends" than those in Washington, and those at Mount Rainier may be found with different species than those in the lowlands. And sometimes, no matter how much you've read ahead of time, the environment will offer its own set of subliminal clues to point the careful observer in the right direction, the "if I was Aphyllon, I'd be over there" moment, recognition of the ideal habitat. It's a skill which comes naturally to some people while others struggle to develop it. If something seems to be compelling you toward a specific niche in a rock, check it out. Your subconscious mind may be trying to tell you something.