Plant Hunters: Amy Patten

What about modern plant hunters? Earlier this year we looked into the lives of two plant hunters that collected in the Western United States, David Douglas (1799 - 1834) and Lester Rowntree (1879 -1979). Plant hunting, or plant collecting, refers to the acquisition of plant specimens for research, cultivation, or as a hobby, and has occurred around the world for thousands of years. In 2020, I was intrigued by two articles from the California Native Plant Society (CPNS). One article announced Amy Patten as the Society's new Rare Plant Treasure Hunt (RPTH) coordinator in California and the other described her as a Conservation Champion. Both were intriguing, because they cast a light on what a modern plant hunter might do.

One of the goals of the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt is to resurvey old records of rare plants in California. The surveys were done in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s and include written site descriptions, since GPS was not widely available. As RPTH coordinator, Ms. Patten leads a team of fellow botanists and volunteers to scour California for rare and endemic plants. Some detective work is required to locate the sites. The team updates the records with current information and precise locations, and sometimes gather seeds or plant tissue. They have access to land that the public cannot, and often require special permits.

For a flavor of modern plant hunting, see the Treasure Hunting after the 2020 Fires presentation (above), which recounts burn area surveys of the SCU Complex and CZU Complex Fires. The SCU Complex fire occurred in the Diablo range (around marker 19:45) and the CZU Complex fire occurred the Santa Cruz mountains (around marker 35:38). I especially liked hearing about the team's adventures locating sites based on old descriptions, and seeing photos of the rare and endemic plants they encountered, some of which only live in a particular region or site. Both provide an insight into the modern plant hunter's motivation - conservation.