BotanyMary Patterson
2017 The Joan K. Hunt and Rachel M. Hunt Summer Scholarship in Field Botany

Mary Elizabeth Patterson is a master’s student in plant biology and conservation at Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden. Her project is titled “Monitoring Protocol for Packeria layneae: a Federally Threatened Species.” Her fieldwork will focus on developing a long-term monitoring protocol for Packeria layneae, also known as Layne’s ragwort or Layne’s butterweed, a threatened species endemic to California. Creating a monitoring protocol is the first step to stabilizing threatened and endangered species populations. Tahoe National Forest botanists and other managers of P. layneae will use the protocol to monitor the species’ long-term demographics.
Funded by Friends of Nishi Rajakaruna in honor of Nishanta Rajakaruna
The Joan K. Hunt and Rachel M. Hunt Summer Scholarship in Field Botany
To promote the importance of botany to horticulture by encouraging young students to study field botany in the U.S., and to offer an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in the field beyond the regular course of study.
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