2 minute read
Plants on the Brink: Island Relics and Everyday Magic
By Sean Carson, Rare Plant Field Program Manager
June 12, 2024
Thinking of seed collecting conjures visions of wildflower fields in grassy meadows. Yet, here we are, four days sleeping on a sailboat, leaping from a rubber dingy, timing ocean swells to propel us ashore. We scaled cliffs to collect seeds of Santa Cruz Island malacothrix (Malacothrix indecora) and island malacothrix (Malacothrix squalida), two endangered plants that thrive on rocky shorelines untouched by introduced grazers.
June 13, 2024
Last night I drifted to sleep, pondering the day’s adventures — what cliffs remain un-surveyed, offering refuge to these plants? Awoken by splashing, I peeked over the handrailing and noticed plumes of bioluminescence in the water, expanding and contracting like vast nebulas in outer space. A dolphin’s tail fin kicked, and green bubbles surrounded the boat’s keel. Mackerel and kelp bass chased plankton — every scale and fin, every contraction of gills, glistening with bioluminescence. Dumbfounded, I fell back asleep reflecting on the wonders of Santa Cruz Island, hiding in plain sight on cliffsides and ocean depths. It’s moments like these that fill me with gratitude for the role I have in protecting these wild places.
