Rare Plant Treasure Hunt

The North Coast Chapter of California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is partnering with Six Rivers National Forest to engage in a rare plant treasure hunt. The treasure hunt is a citizen-science program started by CNPS in 2010 with the goal of getting up-to-date information on many of the state’s rare plants, while engaging chapter members and other volunteers in rare plant conservation. This time, they’ll be searching for the recently described showy pink monkeyflower (Erythranthe trinitiensis). Although there have been sightings of the monkeyflower as recently as last year, the group will attempt to find it again within the Six Rivers National Forest’s Horse Mountain Botanical Area, about 4,000 feet in elevation. If you’re interested in finding this rare “treasure,” meet at Pacific Union School, 3001 Janes Road, in Arcata, at 9 a.m., Saturday, June 20. Don’t forget to bring lunch and water, and wear hiking boots, a hat and sunscreen. Contact John McRae, assistant forest botanist, at (707) 441-3513 for additional information, to RSVP, and if you have a 4-wheel-drive vehicle available