When I find a new plant now, it's usually something non-descript, but not this time. When I was hosting T.J. Coburn, a biologist I know, she saw an unfamiliar plant in the sandhill area on the north tract and wondered what it was. I did, too. I waited for it to bloom, but still couldn't quite figure it out, so I waited for the Archbold crew. They didn't know what it was, either. As Eric joked, when they don't know what something is, they're plant ecologists, not botanists. As it turned out it was relatively widespread species called Ceanothus microphyllus. It is quite lovely when it's in bloom, but the flowering period is relatively short, or at least it was this year.
