Dr. Mark Porter and representative from FWS visited the Borrego site
on 3/10/05 and found 22 plants with about 8 or so in flower. I originally
counted over 30 in the small patch. It is confirmed that they are PMV
but might not be considered a viable population because of the small number
of plants and possible lack of genetic diversity. Many of the plants germinated
too late to flower this season. Time will tell if they actually make seeds
and reappear next year, and the next, and the next. Summer survivors will
be a plus.
According to Dr. Porter's topo maps, the sand in the area has shifted
dramatically in the recent past and continues today. This population may
be a "death throw" from a population that existed when there
were more extensive dunes in the area. It is also possible that there
is another population close by that we don't know about and the pods recently
blew in. There just isn't enough known about the plant to understand what
is going on in this particular area. Even though many sites at the ISDRA
seem to vary in specifics, the site at Borrego is different from all of
them. I will revisit the site in about a month to check the progress and
to look for "new" dunes that may not be on the topo maps.
