Hiking along the dry, dusty trail that leads out onto the Rough and Ready Flat on a hot summer day, it is hard to fathom how ecologically significant it is. Strewn with rocks and sparse vegetation, including a few straggly-looking trees, it is no Amazonian rainforest. Yet, it hosts a spectacular array of botanical delights that deserve a closer look.
Rough and Ready is one of only about 200 biologically outstanding areas in the United States and is home to the greatest amount of plant biodiversity in the State of Oregon. So, though it may appear desolate, it is a botanist’s dreamscape—full of a variety of native and endemic species!
Of course, I had to check it out! This is what brings me back to that dry dusty trail, where I met with BLM Botanist, Amanda Snodgrass, to learn more about Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside near Cave Junction, OR, and what it is like to be a botanist.
The Hike
- Trailhead: Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside
- Distance: 0.3 mile interpretive trail with the option to extend the hike by following established road tracks.
- Details: Ample parking at trailhead. Covered picnic table is available at the trailhead with another table near the end of the trail. No restroom.
On Being a Field Botanist
It was early morning but already warm as Amanda and I strode across Rough and Ready, taking the only trail out onto the flat lands.
Energy high, Amanda told me a bit about her background as a Botanist.
Originally from Iowa, Amanda moved to the area in 2018 and only recently, about eight months ago, took up her post as a Field Office Botanist for the BLM Medford District. She had become fascinated by plants at a young age during a trip to Hawaii and has enjoyed studying and learning about them ever since.
“I like plants. I am a plant person,” Amanda remarked. “They are pretty and resilient, and they don’t talk back.”
Zingers, like this one, seemed to tumble out of Amanda. For a self-professed plant person, she was rather personable. Even though she claimed, “plant people usually aren’t people, people.”
I asked Amanda to explain more about what it is like to be a “plant person,” or more professionally speaking, a field botanist.
“I oversee the botanist program for the Grants Pass field office,” Amanda explained. “I do a lot of fieldwork, but I also do a lot of paperwork.”
Most of that paperwork is around managing botanical resources in terms of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). BLM land is managed for multiple uses, so that means it may be used for a variety of activities, like recreation, mining, or extracting forest products. Amanda’s job is to ensure important botanical resources are protected while still allowing for these activities.
“I still get to do a lot of fun stuff, too,” said Amanda, “like plant surveys, monitoring, restoration work, and a lot of invasive species management.”
According to Amanda, the job is “50/50,” about half of her day-to-day is paperwork and the other half is with the plants. It was clear what part is her favorite.
Meandering
As we meandered down the trail, Amanda described some of what goes into surveys and monitoring for a field botanist.
One of the hallmark surveys she conducts is a “clearance survey.” These are done whenever there is going to be a disturbance in the areas to check for rare species, as well as gather basic information on habitat type and species associations to measure overall ecosystem health.
Long-term monitoring, revisits, plots, and transects… all of these are part of a botanist day to day fieldwork.
Perhaps most intriguing was Amanda’s mention of a “meandering survey.” “It is intuitively controlled,” she explained. Essentially, you are looking at the habitat and predicting what species may be present, and then wander around to see if you can find said species.
“It’s a botany special,” smirked Amanda.
Rough and Ready
We ambled further into Rough and Ready.
I began to take notes of the ecosystem around us. We passed by a view down to wide and braided, Rough and Ready Creek rushing over a bed of cobbles. Low shrubs, mostly ceanothus ran in clumps along the trail with wide sections of open ground where grasses and herbaceous plants grew in scarce quantities. A few pine trees marked the canopy, separated by 10s-of-feet. Flashes of color came from a few wildflowers. The ground itself was gritty, and rocky, appearing less than hospitable to the vegetation—yet stuff was growing.
According to Amanda, Rough and Ready is a part of the Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion known as the Illinois River Valley. To start, these ecoregions are known for their botanical diversity. But when you add in the unique characteristics of Rough and Ready, the biodiversity is even more amplified.
“It is one of the most botanically biodiverse ecosystems in North America,” said Amanda. While in Oregon, is considered the most botanically diverse. That is nothing to snuff at.
So, I asked Amanda, “Why?” What is it about Rough and Ready?
“It has its own special characteristics,” Amanda responded.
She went on to explain how it is the unique geology, hydrology, and climate that help provide opportunities for diversity to flourish.
Geologically speaking it has serpentine soils—“aged metamorphic soil, high in minerals like magnesium and nickel.”
Heavily mineralized, ultramafic soil is difficult for most plants—making important nutrients like calcium and nitrogen unavailable, while subjecting plants to heavy metals at toxic levels.
“Many plants can’t grow in it and the ones that do often can only grow on it,” Amanda elaborated.
Additionally, Rough and Ready is unique hydrologically, receiving more rainfall compared to adjacent areas.
“It can get over 100 inches of rain a year!” Amanda exclaimed.
Water is carried down from the mountains and distributed onto a broad alluvial floodplain and alluvial bench which hosts a variety of species.
The climate at Rough and Ready is also variable throughout the watershed.
“It has several elevations,” stated Amanda.
With influences from the Pacific Ocean, Coast Ranges, Cascade peaks, and the deserts of the Great Basin, the area has a variety of habitat zones, determined by the physiology and changes in precipitation levels that shift with elevation.
All in all, this makes Rough and Ready “second in North America for endemism,” according to Amanda. In other words, there are a lot of unique species here that you wouldn’t find anywhere outside the region.
“Are we going to find any of them?” I asked.
“Yes, they are all around!” exclaimed Amanda jubilantly.
Pining for Pines
At this point, we reached a tall berm of ultramafic, heavily mineralized soil.
“Well, the trail work must have stopped here,” smiled Amanda, as we climbed over the barrier.
After successfully navigating over the dry sluff of soil, it was time to get down to business—the business of plants.
“Are these all Jeffery Pines?” I asked Amanda, pointing to the nearest tree that stood a few feet off the trail.
“Yes,” she responded, “we have a really high percentage of Jefferey Pines. Though in this spot they tend to be straggly.”
Again, the soil was doing its thing—binding the nutrients and stunting growth.
Amanda was a bit surprised by my enthusiasm for the trees, but she was willing to humor me.
Jefferey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi) is one of only two species of pine that has needles bundled in groups of three in Oregon. The other species, Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa), is much more common and also found at Rough and Ready. So, how can one distinguish between these two look-alikes?
“Gentle Jeffery,” Amanda mused… “and Poky Ponderosa.”
She went on to explain that one of the best ways to tell these two pines apart is by their cones. Ponderosa Pine’s cones tend to be larger, at least 6 inches with more pronounced sharp prickles on their scales; while Jeffery Pine’s cones are usually smaller than 6 inches, with scales that point inward. The needle colors can also be a distinguishing factor—Jeffrey Pines have greenish gray needles and Ponderosa have bright green to yellow needles.
“Sometimes you can smell them,” she added. Ponderosa Pine usually has a sweet scent like pineapple or vanilla.
Of course, this is one place where relying on all your senses might come in especially handy.
“A lot of places there is only one type of pine,” Amanda extolled. But, “Oregon is home to roughly 30 species of conifers, and the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion is home to 36 species of conifer across Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Ah, for the love of conifers! This is my sort of place.
Keying in on Family Ties
Head out of the trees, Amanda soon directed my attention downward. Colorful puffs of yellow and bright white grew from long stems along the trail.
“Buckwheat,” Amanda confirmed.
But how can you tell? It isn’t easy. For the buckwheat family, in particular, you may even need a microscope to get down to the species level.
“It can take hours to key out a plant,” Amanda explained. “One thing that happens in this ACEC (area of critical environmental concern) is there is a lot of hybridization.” In other words, a lot of mixing of genes between species that can make keying out a species even more difficult.
However, with the right tools, including a good identification book or app, it can be done. Amanda recommended the “Oregon Wildflowers” App put out by Oregon Flora, as well as several regional books, including A Flora of California by Munz and The Jepson Desert Manual by Baldwin, et al.
Amanda pulled out a species list to help narrow things down, and after some careful study and using the wildflower app, was able to identify the yellow buckwheat as ternate buckwheat (Eriogonum ternatum) and the white as sulfur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum).
Okay, so getting down to species may at times become challenging, especially in biodiverse areas. There is at least eight known buckwheat in Rough and Ready, for example. But there is something to be said for identifying to family-level as well.
Family groups often share some common characteristics. This is true of the buckwheat family as well.
“A lot of the times buckwheat have a basal rosette and then bare stems that come up with these puffs of flowers that turn color over time,” Amanda described. “The leaves are also often spoon-shaped,” she added.
“Spoon leaves,” I let it roll off the tongue. What a way to keep things straight!
“There is all the formal terminology,” continued Amanda, “but I think it is helpful” to use your own terms as well to help distinguish and remember individual plants.
Other families share other characteristics. A few of the families found at Rough and Ready Amanda described include: The Allium Family with their clusters of flowers and pungent linear leaves. The Asparagus family with lance-shaped leaves and parallel venation and often bell-shaped flowers. And the Lily family with 6 petals with three to 6 stamen and leaves often arising from low to the ground.
Spring Flowers
Amanda and I continued to note the various wildflower species along the trail as we hiked—lavender, spiky-looking ookow (Dichelostemma congestum) and purple with sharp, curved petals, Harvest Brodiaea (Brodiaea elegans). We also discovered a small rock fern called Indian’s dream (Aspidotis densa)—what a name!
Eventually, we reached a junction and headed left, following the powerlines on an old roadbed toward the river.
Speaking of colorful wildflowers, I asked Amanda when should people visit Rough and Ready for the best wildflower show.
Though there was plenty to see in these early summer months, Amanda recommended returning in spring.
“Spring is nice because you get the first wildflower blush,” she said. “Early spring wildflowers have a high percentage of endemic species.”
Many of the Irises and Calochortus (including mariposas) show up in spring—both of which have endemic species.
However, according to Amanda, any time is a good time to visit.
“What is cool about this site is it changes throughout the year and as you head up in elevation.”
Shrubs
However, there are some species that can be seen year-round. In addition to the conifer species, hardwood trees and shrubs are also year-round residents of Rough and Ready. And we saw a lot of them on the trail! So many that, of course, I asked Amanda about it.
She patiently humorous me as we walked along noting species, like deer brush (Ceanothus integerrimus), birchleaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides), and spicy-smelling California Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum).
“It is known as ‘holy weed’ or ‘holy herb’ and is the borage family,” shared Amanda regarding the California Yerba Santa.
We walked past an unusual-looking oak.
Whipping out the plant list, Amanda stated: “We have seven oaks here in Rough and Ready.”
She then pulled open her Oregon Wildflower App to see if she could narrow things down.
“I think it is Brewer’s oak,” said Amanda after some deliberation. “The Brewer’s Oak is a hybrid of the Oregon White Oak.”
It looked Oregon White Oaky to me.
Amanda admitted she rarely spends much time on shrubs, as we ran across a myriad of manzanita.
“There are three types of Manzanitas here,” said Amanda.
Again, she worked to narrow down the ones surrounding us. “I think it is hoary manzanita,” she proclaimed, noting the wooly twigs and branches.
We didn’t attempt to identify any of the others. Apparently, manzanita are known to hybridize, making identification even more complicated. Those darn shrubs!
Waters Edge
We continued down the “powerline trail,” passing a cluster of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica). Soon, we reached the rocky shores of Rough and Ready Creek.
Here we decided it was best to loop back. So, we carefully, balanced along the rocky creek edge, passing by a camas lily as we went.
Following the water’s edge, our garden of flowers was even more sparse. We focused on the rocks under our feet as we hopped along.
“So, these are all very serpentine rocks,” remarked Amanda as she picked up a rock to show me. “See the green color. There is asbestos in these rocks.”
There were also a lot of reddish rocks—another serpentine rock, only derived from peridotite, instead of serpentinite which yield the more dazzling green colors.
All these rocks weather to a reddish-colored soil characteristic of serpentine geology.
Adaptations
We carefully clambered over the colorful rocks, careful to avoid the delicate desert soil. It was hot with the sun and only a few clouds dancing overhead.
Which brings us right back to the question: how do species adapt to this harsh environment? How do they deal with, as Amanda called them “asbestos rocks,” among the many other challenges?
Amanda and I discussed the problem throughout our hike—touching on the various challenges of the region.
As discussed earlier, serpentine rocks are characteristically high in certain minerals, like heavy metals. To overcome this, many species of plants might exclude heavy metals, reduce their transfer through the plant, or concentrate it in certain tissues at unusually high levels.
When it comes to living in a relatively dry, sunny environment—where evapotranspiration is high—plants take different approaches to reduce water loss and protect from the sun.
“Many of them have leathery leaves or coatings…” said Amanda, and/or “different types of furry leaves and stems.”
Leathery or coated leaves help reduce water loss by reducing evaporation, as well as provide insulation from the sun and cold. While the hairs of furry leaves are helpful for reflecting sunlight and reducing airflow and drying.
Wildfire
Wildfire is another challenge for species in the Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion.
“There are three kinds of species—species that tolerate wildfire, those that don’t, and those that require it,” said Amanda. “Here, many require it.”
Those that require fire might need it for a variety of reasons. Some conifer species have serotinous cones—cones that require fire to open and release seeds. Many herbs and forbs have seeds with hard seed coats that need fire, or some other harsh environment, to break that coat to germinate.
“A lot of plants are adapted to fire because it makes nutrients available,” Amanda continued. “After a burn, big blooms of vegetative growth often occur.”
Other species, like oaks, will resist fire. Oaks have thick bark that protects them from lower-intensity fires. While, manzanita, on the other hand, burns fast and hot, but can regenerate easily—resprouting from burls at the base of the shrubs.
However, Amanda warned that changes in the fire interval—the amount of time between fires—could have negative effects on some species and their ability to tolerate fire.
“Burn too frequently, nothing reestablishes,” she said, “not enough, and there is too much competition.”
Non-native species also often arrive following a fire which can complicate things further. Non-native grasses, for example, often come in following fire. The problem is that these grasses create an ecosystem prone to more fire. More fire means more grasses, and on and on.
To sum up, native species are adapted, not only to fire, but to a specific fire regime and a very specific plant community. Changes in either of these can lead to native ecosystem loss.
Why Plants Matter
As we continued to traverse the cobbles, having seen some of the diversity of species to discover at Rough and Ready, I asked Amanda why we should care about all these plants anyway? Do plants really matter?
This was her response:
“Plants are foundational components in high-functioning systems that support other species and the human population. They are the fundamental backbone. All our materials come from plants, they are the source of food, clothes, drugs, material, and they are also an indicator of ecosystem health.”
She went on:
“Diversity is stability. It is easy to overlook plants because they don’t make any noise. But, they are all around us and necessary for the survival of all species. I like them because they are quiet underdogs. But really, they are important and we need to preserve the diversity of different species.”
Amanda continued to explain how, despite their immense value to the ecosystem and our human societies, plant populations are being threatened by climate change, habitat loss, and many other stressors.
“We need people to speak for them,” proclaimed Amanda. “It is important to have people that care and are willing to support the plants and their communities because we all depend on them for survival.”
You could really hear the passion and concern behind Amanda’s words.
“Cheese-fest?” she smiled, then shrugged. “It’s just how I feel.”
I smiled and kept on rock hopping. Did I just hear a mic hit the floor?
Keep a Close Watch
Looking out for the botanical resources on BLM is a big part of Amanda’s job, but this has proven difficult as threats are often mounting.
Amanda expressed concern for the plants at the Rough and Ready.
“The other thing about plants is because they are slower at migrating, it is easier for them to just be gone.”
She used several examples of how species tend to be closely connected to their environments. Again, she reminded me how serpentine species need serpentine soils to survive. Then there are saprophytic plants, like snow plants and ground cones, that need specific trees with a specific microbiome to be happy.
“Everyone loves the calypso orchids,” she expounded, “but you can’t pick them up and move them…they are connected with the mycorrhiza of the soil.”
Then, there are threats from “their own kind”—invasive species take up a lot of Amanda’s time.
“They are a major threat to the integrity of the ecosystem and it takes a lot of time and energy to make progress on it,” she explained regarding her efforts.
“What else?” I asked. “What are the biggest threats to the plants here?”
Amanda spoke of the challenges that her district specifically faces, including illegal marijuana grows, offroad recreation, and illegal dumping.
“French flat is one of our highest intact pieces of habitat for Lomatium cookii, a federally listed species,” said Amanda. “And we are constantly having trouble with off-road vehicles. There are a lot of burned-out cars there, ”she sighed.
As if on cue, we crossed by some trash on the trail.
“I lose faith in humans sometimes,” she remarked as she bent down to pick it up.
Enjoy Plants
At this point, we decided to begin veering back to the normal trail, but before we made it over the rocky rise, I asked Amanda for advice—how can people enjoy plants?
She had a lot of ideas, but her main message was simple—leave a place better than you found it. Care about plants and share how your care with others.
She also suggested making small goals to help plants.
“Think of your own yard. Do you have some native flowering plants? That is your base. There is a food chain that connects all the way up from there.”
And, of course, spending time with plants, was her last piece of advice.
“Visit a local park or somewhere nearby and instead of just walking, stop in a spot and look around. Count how many different plants you think you see.”
Amanda recommended reaching out to organizations, like a local native plant society, to learn more about the plants.
“Peak curiosity… “ After all, once you have truly seen a plant “you can’t unsee it!”
Species List
Amanda and I carefully made our way up the hill and back to the main path. As we walked, I asked Amanda if she could give me a short list of species for the area that she “can’t unsee.” What species could someone visiting the Klamath-Siskiyou learn to appreciate first?
This proved to be the most difficult question of the day—she came up with a few, but later sent me her complete list.
First, the trees. Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), Brewer’s Spruce(Picea breweriana), Port Orford Cedar(Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), and Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia) were Amanda’s picks.
“They are easily recognizable, native, and all have some personality or rich history,” said Amanda.
Pacific Madrone, for example, has a hard, dense wood with “eucalyptus-like bark,” both smooth and peeling.
Later she added knobcone pine (Pinus tuberculata) to the list—as it is one that is especially dense at the Oregon/California border.
Next, shrubs. Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) was her first pick.
“It is an indicator of a native ecosystem,” said Amanda of the Oregon Grape. “It’s fruits edible, roots medicinal, and pollinators love it!”
Later she added: Huckleberry Oak (Quercus vacciniifolia), Deer Oak (Quercus sadleriana), and Hupa Gooseberry (Ribes marshallii).
Finally, the flowers!
Originally, Amanda suggested beargrass (Xerophylllum tenax) and Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia californica) to add to the list. Both are unique enough to identify easily and have unique life histories and/or cultural significance.
“Beargrass has a unique flower stalk,” said Amanda. “It is culturally significant to a number of native tribes and is an indicator of the Pacific Northwest Coast Region.”
Later she added: Clustered Lady Slipper (Cypripedium californicum), Gentner’s Fritillary (Fritillaria gentneri), Howell’s Camas (Camassia howellii), Siskiyou Iris (Iris bracteata), and Splithair Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja schizotricha)
Botanical Discoveries
It was still morning when we made it back to the trailhead, so we decided we would check out the Eight Dollar Mountain site just a short drive away before taking parting ways.
At Eight Dollar Mountain, we found a lot of other interesting species, including an amazing view of a Darlingtonia fen in bloom, and many endemics.
However, my favorite moment on this pit stop was when we first arrived and headed up the road to the boardwalk. Amanda suddenly made a beeline off the side of the road. I followed.
A scattered patch of beautiful large white blooms with hairy petals and pink stamen ringed in a reddish brown grew there from their tall thin green stems. Neither of us had seen these flowers before. The excitement was palpable.
Giddy with our new find, Amanda dove into her reference materials and shortly was able to identify it as Howell’s Mariposa Lily (Calochortus howelii)—a local endemic. We would soon find out it was very common to the site—a lot of it grew along the boardwalk trail—but at that moment, it was new, fresh, and exciting.
And there it was—botany in action, the joy of discovery.
I discovered a lot on my hike with Amanda.
Though, I started out the day loving botany (Yes, I am a plant nerd). Experiencing Amanda’s passion and persistence was both heartening and renewing—like seeing a new plant for the first time. Seriously, it doesn’t get better than that!
Amanda Snodgrass is a Field Office Botanist for the Bureau of Land Management, Medford District. She earned a Master of Science from Iowa State University in Horticulture in 2012. She has worked for U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service as a Botanist and Horticulturalist.