Location: Big Eddy Pullout site, Rio Arriba County

Date/s: 6/21/2024 and 8/9/2024 

Field Collections: Initial visits in late June 2024 noted a population of around 400 individuals in flower, with many having already set seed. On a subsequent visit on September 6th, plants were found to have set large amounts of seed. Collection was conducted at this time targeting 40% of reproductive output of every fourth plant encountered. Subsequent processing of seed noted that the ripeness of seeds varied considerably and that fruits collected while red in color were not always fully ripe. Future seed collections should target fruits after all color is lost and fruits take on a dull gray/brown appearance, though it is apparent that the window for such collections is relatively short as seed detaches rapidly after ripening. Numerous stems were present on collected plants, many of which retained their sepals indicating previous seed set. Seeds were observed surrounding many plants. Collections comprised approximately 10% of seed available at the moment of collection, but given evidence of previous seed set, likely represents less than 5% of seed set for the year.

Seed Storage Information: From the collection on 8/12/2024, 915 seeds were processed from 55 maternal lines. The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) will be the primary storage facility and the ABQ BioPark will serve as the backup facility. 209 seeds from 14 maternal lines will be put in backup storage.

Location: Ball Ranch

Date/s: 8/12/2024

Field Collections: Initial visits in late May 2024 noted a population of around 700 individuals in flower, but plants had not set seed. On a subsequent visit in June, neither seeds nor flowers were observed. Stems appeared clipped off, and horse tracks at the site were abundant. It is assumed that flowers had been consumed by feral horses prior to development. On a subsequent visit on 12 August 2024, nearly all plants at the site were observed to be setting seed. Collection was conducted at this time targeting 40% of seed set on every fourth plant. Total collections are estimated to be below 5% of reproductive output at the site for the year. Collections were conducted at the boundary of T14N R6E Section 31 and T13N R6E Section 6 within a population centered at 35.393, -106.344 and having a radius of approximately 250 m.

Seed Storage Information: From the collection on 8/12/2024, 722 seeds were processed from 42 maternal lines. The ABQ BioPark will be the primary storage facility and the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) will serve as the backup facility.

Location: Ojito, Section 28

Date  s: 6/21/2024 and 8/9/2024 

Field Collections: Collections were conducted on 21 June 2024. All collected plants occurred within a ½ mile radius and are considered a single population. Plants were abundant in the area, numbering well over 100 individuals, most of which were in bloom, and collection targeted 40% of reproductive output on every fourth plant encountered. Many individuals remained in flower and the collected amount is suspected to be under 10% of actual reproductive output as these plants set substantial amounts of seed later in the year. Plants in the remainder of the section were also flowering, but could not be collected due to time constraints. Plants were monitored in July and many flowers were observed, but plants had not set seed following an initial burst in early summer. By August, seed set was again high, and the remainder of the population was collected on 9 August 2024.

Seed Storage Information: From the collection on 6/21/2024, 219 seeds were processed from 13 maternal lines. They will be housed at the ABQ BioPark seed bank. No backup collection was acquired, as there were too few seeds (<300). From the collection on 8/9/2024, 1468 seeds were processed from 35 maternal lines. The ABQ BioPark will be the primary storage facility and the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) will serve as the backup facility. 268 seeds from 29 maternal lines will be put in backup storage.