BotanyEmma Fryer
2021 The Garden Club of America Summer Scholarship in Field Botany
Modeling the Community Assembly of the Vertic Clay Endemic Annual Plant Species of the San Joaquin Desert
Fryer is studying a suite of annual wildflowers from California’s San Joaquin Desert and their adaptations to extremely harsh, high in clay (“vertic”), sodic soils. The group of annuals she is working with are endemic
to these vertic clay soils; about half her study species are rare and found only in a small area within the San Joaquin Desert. She will use a combination of field and greenhouse studies to determine the nature of this novel form of edaphic (soil) endemism and how the combination of soil chemistry, texture, and competition from an invasive annual grass shape the community, causing the vibrant, patchwork-like patterns of color these species create during the San Joaquin Desert’s famed superblooms.
The Garden Club of America Summer Scholarship in Field Botany
To support students' field studies and offer an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience beyond the regular course of study.
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