Allison is a third-year doctorate student in botany at California Botanic Garden and Claremont Graduate University focused on rare plant conservation. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware, where she majored in plant science and environmental science. Allison specializes in North American terrestrial orchid conservation, and previously worked in a tissue culture lab focused on the asymbiotic propagation of rare orchid species on the East coast. Currently, she is studying Spiranthes infernalis, a Nevada-endemic orchid, andMalaxis monophyllos var. brachypoda, an orchid that is highly rare in California. When she isn’t in classes or the lab, Allison loves to go on hikes, bike rides, and road trips. She also has been growing tropical orchids as houseplants for over a decade.

Orchid species are inherently vulnerable due to their specialized life history requirements, narrow habitat specificity, and often, small population size. As such, the majority of native orchid taxa in the US and Canada have been identified as rare, threatened or endangered in some or all of their range. Unfortunately, many of these taxa are still understudied and lack legal protections. My research aims to address this issue by undertaking research and applied conservation actions for two highly rare orchid taxa that have disjunct distributions in southern California and Nevada, Spiranthes infernalis and Malaxis monophyllos var. brachypoda.

Spiranthes infernalis is a globally-imperiled species that was previously thought to be endemic to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nye County Nevada. However, it was recently documented in Railroad Valley, Nye County, NV in 2020 and it has been suggested that a historical occurrence of Spiranthes porrifolia in Fish Slough north of Bishop in Mono County, California, may be best identified as Spiranthes infernalis based on shared habitat affinity and morphological similarity. My research will help ensure the continued survival of this species by integrating population genetics, taxonomic research, demographic monitoring, surveys, life history studies, seed banking, propagation trials, and restoration planning.

Malaxis monophyllos var. brachypoda is an orchid that is widespread throughout the northern latitudes of North America but is considered rare, threatened, or endangered in much of its native range, especially in California, where it is only known from an isolated disjunct population in montane meadow habitats. No more than five extant occurrences of M. monophyllos var. brachypoda containing fewer than 25 plants each are known to exist in California, and these numbers are believed to be dwindling based on preliminary fieldwork. I am working to propagate and conserve this species ex situ in response to its precipitous in situ decline.