Join us for our second field trip on Sunday, April 19th, when the renowned John Weiser will be leading us up to Peavine Peak to meet Claytonia umbellatum, also known as the Great Basin Claytonia. This miniature succulent grows in, outcroppings of basalt talus on the peaks of the western Great Basin Desert and eastern Sierra Nevada escarpment. The tiny rusty/green leaves rest tightly to the surfaces of broken dark basalt rock. The talus veins it grows from have little other vegetation present. The flowers are in tiny clusters of white five petaled flowers with pink bee guides. You have to search for this beauty as the snow melts and temperatures start to warm. It is difficult to spot at first but when you find one, others start to pop out as if by magic. Here is a link to photos of our target plant https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=2252

We'll meet up at 10am at McDonald's, 10595 Stead Blvd, Reno to carpool. We'll be leaving this location at 10:15 sharp! The road to the to the top of Peavine is rough and somewhat rutted on the lower third of the route. It gets better higher up but is still rough. Four wheel drive is not required but higher clearance is advisable. Bring water and warm clothing as it could be windy. We will not be walking long distances but there is no shelter on these high exposed ridge tops.

This link takes you to a map of our meeting site and the route we will take to Peavine Summit - https://tinyurl.com/59atc2sf