Biodiversity Data Journal :
Research Article
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Corresponding author: Paul C. Sokoloff (psokoloff@nature.ca)
Academic editor: Gianniantonio Domina
Received: 03 Jun 2020 | Accepted: 03 Jul 2020 | Published: 18 Aug 2020
© 2020 Paul Sokoloff, David Murray, Samantha McBeth, Michael Irvine, Shannon Rupert
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Sokoloff PC, Murray DA, McBeth SR.M, Irvine MG, Rupert SM (2020) Additions to the “Martian Flora”: new botanical records from the Mars Desert Research Station, Utah. Biodiversity Data Journal 8: e55063. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e55063
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The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is a Mars-simulation campus set in a Martian planetary analogue in southern Utah. Despite a long history of astrobiology research, collections-based taxonomic inventories of the macro-level biodiversity around the station are relatively new. This study serves to add to the initial vascular plant list published for the station in 2016, where 39 species were recorded for MDRS. Here we report 40 new species, two new taxa recorded only to genus and two species re-identified from our 2016 fieldwork, bringing the total number of taxa in the "Martian" flora to 79 species and two taxa recorded to genus.
Floristics, Utah, Mars analogue, botany
The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in south-eastern Utah (Fig.
The Mars Desert Research Station Near Hanksville, Utah. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
The deserts surrounding the station, south of the San Rafael Swell, are a true geologic analogue to Mars (
Though there is a long tradition of floristic work across Utah and there are comprehensive plant lists for many areas near MDRS, like the San Rafael Swell (
While this initial study provided a baseline to work from, these collections were made primarily in November, when many species might not be conspicuously flowering or fruiting. At that point in the year, annuals or taxa which only spend part of their life cycle above ground (geophytes, for example) might also be overlooked. With 491 taxa recorded for the San Rafael Swell (
Crew 143 also operated as a Mars-mission simulation, where trips outside of the main station campus (the Hab) were tightly controlled as simulated extra-vehicular activities (EVAs). On these excursions, crews were limited to exploring pre-approved sites, with a small team for a short amount of time (to simulate the constraints of working on Mars), reducing the amount of botanical exploration time available to the team. Additionally, the crew was required to wear simulated spacesuits while outside the hab, reducing visibility and dexterity while collecting. While all these conditions serve as a realistic learning opportunity about how to undertake field science on another world, it likely reduced the number of taxa recorded during the rotation.
The objective of our current study is to continue to develop the vascular plant checklist for MDRS by filling in collecting gaps caused by the above limitations. By re-collecting previously explored sites in the spring (rather than late autumn), we aim to fill in phenological gaps in our existing dataset. By botanising new locations and microhabitats across the MDRS exploration area in a non-simulation mission, with a crew made up predominantly of biologists, we hope to add new vascular plant taxa to the "Martian" flora.
Crew 210, our biodiversity survey group, worked out of MDRS between 13-20 April 2019. During this week, our team made 63 vascular plant collections from 13 sites across the MDRS exploration area (Fig.
Collection Numbers | Date | Locality | Coordinates | Habitat |
1260-1264 | 14 April 2019 | Emery County, "Valley of the Stars", 16 km from Highway 24 along Factory Bench Road. |
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Sandstone bluffs with Atriplex gardneri, Dasyochloa pulchella, Ephedra viridis, Artemisia tridentata. |
1265-1270 | 14 April 2019 | Wayne County, Salt Wash at the end of Factory Bench Road, 20 km from Highway 24. |
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Sandy shoreline of Salt Creek, dominated by Tamarix ramosissima and Ericameria nauseosa. |
1271-1279 | 14 April 2019 | Wayne County, area just south of Burpee Dinosaur Quarry at the end of Cow Dung Road, 5 km N of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Sandy plains dominated by Allium textile, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Ephedra viridis. |
1280-1291 | 16 April 2019 | Wayne County, west side of Bureau of Land Management Road 1104, 2 km NE of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Sandy plains dominated by Artemisia filifolia and Scabrethia scabra. |
1292-1295, 1323 | 16 April 2019 | Wayne County, south side of Bureau of Land Management Road 1104, 3.5 km NE of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Rocky desert plain with basalt ejecta, with Atriplex sp. and Sporobolus sp. |
1296-1300 | 16 April 2019 | Wayne County, sandy wash south of Bureau of Land Management Road 1104, 3.75 km NE of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Sheltered, sandy wash in rocky valley, with Ericameria nauseosa and Artemisia tridentata. |
1301 | 16 April 2019 | Wayne County, south side of Bureau of Land Management Road 1104, 3.5 km NE of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Rocky desert plain with basalt ejecta, with Atriplex sp. and Sporobolus sp. |
1302-1306 | 17 April 2019 | Wayne County, east side of Cow Dung Road, on a ridge just east of turnoff onto Bureau of Land Management Road 1572, 4 km N of the Mars Desert Research Station |
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Rocky ridge with Atriplex sp. |
1307-1309 | 17 April 2019 | Wayne County, crossroads of Bureau of Land Management Road 1572 and 1575, 4 km NW of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Clay Mancos Shale ridge with Atriplex corrugata. |
1310-1314 | 17 April 2019 | Wayne County, "Copernicus Valley" along Bureau of Land Management Highway 0157, 5.7 km NW of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Silty clay flats with Sarcobatus vermiculatus. |
1315-1317 | 17 April 2019 | Wayne County, "Hab Ridge", sandstone ridge at edge of Lower Blue Hills, immediately west of the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Dakota Sandstone/Mancos Shale substrate with Aristida purpurea and Gutierrezia sarothrae. |
1317b-1319 | 17 April 2019 | Wayne County, North Pinto Hills, desert flats immediately east of Cow Dung Road, 1.75 km N of Highway 24. |
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Flat sandy plains dominated by Allium textile and Sarcobatus vermiculatus. |
1320-1322 | 17 April 2019 | Wayne County, area immediately surrounding the Mars Desert Research Station. |
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Red clay flats. |
Collecting sites for the 2019 fieldwork carried out by Crew 210. Map Data: Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), (c) Open Street Map contributors and the GIS User Community.
At each sampling site, we surveyed the vegetation by searching various microhabitats on foot, seeking out plant taxa not previously documented from the station in
These herbarium specimens were identified using various literature sources, including the Flora of North America (
Of the 63 collections made by Crew 210, 12 were of taxa previously recorded from MDRS (
New plant taxa documented by Crew 210 for the Mars Desert Research Station area, arranged according to the APG IV linear sequence. Taxa with an asterisk* were photo-documented only.
monocots | Asparagales | Amaryllidaceae | Allium macropetalum Rydb |
Asparagaceae | Eremocrinum albomarginatum (M.E.Jones) M.E.Jones | ||
Yucca harrimaniae Trel. | |||
Poales |
Poaceae |
Eremopyrum triticeum (Gaertn.) Nevski |
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Vulpia octoflora var. octoflora |
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eudicots | Fabales | Fabaceae | Astragalus mollissimus var. thompsoniae (S. Watson) Barneby |
Astragalus pardalinus (Rydb.) Barneby | |||
Astragalus praelongus E. Sheld. |
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Astragalus woodruffii M.E. Jones |
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Hoffmannseggia repens (Eastw.) Cockerell |
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Lupinus pusillus Pursh |
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Malpighiales |
Salicaceae |
Populus fremontii subsp. fremontii | |
Myrtales |
Onagraceae |
Camissonia eastwoodiae (Munz) P.H. Raven |
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Oenothera pallida Lindl. |
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Sapindales | Anacardiaceae | Rhus trilobata var. trilobata | |
Brassicales | Cleomaceae | Cleomella palmeriana M.E. Jones | |
Brassicaceae | Chorispora tenella (Pall.) DC.* | ||
Descurainia pinnata subsp. brachycarpa (Richardson) Detling | |||
Stanleya pinnata var. pinnata | |||
Streptanthella longirostris (S.Watson) Rydb. | |||
Strigosella africana (L.) Botsch. | |||
Caryophyllales |
Polygonaceae |
Eriogonum gordonii Benth. |
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Eriogonum wetherillii Eastw. |
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Amaranthaceae | Atriplex argentea Nutt. | ||
Atriplex canescens var. canescens | |||
Blitum nuttallianum Schult. | |||
Nyctaginaceae |
Abronia elliptica A. Nelson | ||
Cactaceae | Pediocactus Britton & Rose* | ||
Sclerocactus Britton & Rose* | |||
Cornales | Loasaceae |
Mentzelia pterosperma Eastw. |
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Boraginales | Boraginaceae | Cryptantha crassisepala var. elachantha I.M. Johnst. | |
Oreocarya flava A.Nelson | |||
Oreocarya flavoculata A. Nelson | |||
Phacelia corrugata A. Nelson | |||
Phacelia demissa var. demissa | |||
Tiquilia latior (I.M. Johnston) A. Richards. | |||
Asterales | Asteraceae | Chaenactis stevioides Hook. & Arn. | |
Malacothrix sonchoides (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray | |||
Prenanthella exigua (A. Gray) Rydb. | |||
Tetradymia glabrata Torr. & A. Gray | |||
Dipsacales | Caprifoliaceae | Symphoricarpos longiflorus Gray. | |
Apiales | Apiaceae | Cymopterus glomeratus (Nutt.) Raf. |
The collecting sites visited during our rotation included a wider variety of habitats than our previous work in 2014, owing to the fact that Crew 210 was not working within the restraints of a Martian surface mission simulation and, therefore, had wider latitude to visit more sites each day and to go further afield. While complete habitat descriptions for all collecting sites can be found in Table
In Emery county, north of MDRS, Factory Bench Road cuts through the "Valley of the Stars" (Fig.
Habitats sampled in the MDRS Area. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
In Wayne County, east of the station, a sheltered, sandy wash provides adequate substrate and microclimate to host a unique local flora, including larger shrubs like Rhus trilobata subsp. trilobata and Populus fremontii subsp. fremontii (Fig.
All vascular plant collections made by Crew 210 are included in the checklist below, which is arranged alphabetically by family and then species. Taxa previously collected at MDRS and recollected in 2019, are briefly listed under the family name. Taxa new to MDRS are listed under their own header, which includes the collection numbers corresponding to the species vouchers, any relevant notes about taxonomy, identification, and distribution, and if the taxon is present in one of four complete floristic inventories of locations close to MDRS: the San Rafael Swell (
We documented three new species in one new genus and one previously-documented genus for the MDRS area. We also made collections of species previously known from the station, including: Atriplex confertifolia (Torr. & Frém.) S. Wats. (Sokoloff et al. 1317 [Fig.
Amaranthacaeae, Amaryillidaceae, Anacardiaceae, and Apiaceae. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1314 (CAN).
Found growing in silty sediment in Copernicus Valley, this species has been reported from Capitol Reef National Park (as var. argentea) (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1318 (CAN).
This shrub is widespread throughout Utah's deserts (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1320 (CAN, UTC).
This native annual species is commonly found on wetter, sub-alkaline clay (
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1271 (CAN); 1319 (CAN).
A common sight in the MDRS area (Fig.
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1297 (CAN, UTC).
This taxon was only encountered in the sheltered sandy wash south of BLM road 1104, with a unique local vegetation including Populus fremontii subsp. fremontii and Symphoricarpos longiflorus (Fig.
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1273 (CAN, UTC).
This species was occasionally encountered throughout the MDRS area (Fig.
We documented two new species in two new genera for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1289 (CAN, UTC).
This monotypic species was encountered sporadically on sandy soils east of MDRS (Fig.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1298 (CAN).
This species was encountered infrequently, only on the top of "Hab Ridge" and in the sandy wash south of BLM road 1104 (Fig.
We documented four new species from four new genera for the MDRS area. We also made collections of species previously documented at the station, including: Gaillardia spathulata A. Gray (Sokoloff et al. 1267) and Thelesperma subnudum A. Gray (Sokoloff et al. 1283).
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1293 (CAN, UTC).
This species was not yet flowering when collected during our field season, but the characteristically hairy, dissected leaves made identification relatively straightforward (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1277 (CAN, UTC).
While our specimen was not flowering at the time of collection (Fig.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Emery County: Sokoloff et al. 1263 (CAN). Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1306 (CAN).
These young specimens possess toothed, black-spotted basal leaves which appear to be uncommon in the species (Fig.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1316 (CAN, UTC).
Common in the San Rafael Swell (
We documented six new species in three new genera and one previously-documented genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1276 (CAN, UTC).
Variety elachantha is the more common infraspecific taxon of this annual species (
Boraginaceae. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1275 (CAN, UTC); 1291 (CAN, UTC).
Common throughout southeast Utah (
As Cryptantha flava (A. Nelson) Payson, this species has been reported as common in the San Rafael Swell (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1268 (CAN, UTC).
Only encountered once in the MDRS area near Salt Wash (Fig.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Emery County: Sokoloff et al. 1260 (CAN, UTC). Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1309 (CAN, UTC).
This species was encountered occasionally on rocky hilltops and raised clay swells in the MDRS area (Fig.
Boraginaceae. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1308 (CAN); 1312 (CAN, UTC).
Common on the silty flats of Copernicus Valley and on clay formations around the MDRS area (Fig.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1290 (CAN).
Only encountered once in the MDRS area on sandy plains (Fig.
We documented four new species from four new genera for the MDRS area. We also made a collection of a species previously known from the station: Lepidium montanum Nutt. (Sokoloff et al. 1304).
This invasive weed was photographed (Fig.
Brassicaceae. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Emery County: Sokoloff et al. 1262 (CAN, UTC). Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1303 (CAN).
Widespread throughout much of North America (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1266 (CAN).
This well-known selenophyte (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Emery County: Sokoloff et al. 1261 (CAN).
This specimen is common in the MDRS area (Fig.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1269 (CAN, UTC); 1278 (CAN, UTC).
Commonly seen across the MDRS area (Fig.
While conducting fieldwork at MDRS, Crew 210 occasionally encountered populations of small barrel cacti, consistent with members of the Cactaceae subfamily Cactoidae (
In 2014, Crew 143 collected two cacti specimens (
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1284 (CAN); 1296 (CAN, UTC).
This species was only encountered twice in the MDRS area (Fig.
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1311 (CAN, DAO, UTC).
Abundantly common on the silty floor of Copernicus Valley north of MDRS (Fig.
We documented six new species in two new genera and one previously-documented genus for the MDRS area. We also made a collection of a species previously known from the station: Astragalus desperatus M.E. Jones (Sokoloff et al. 1317b [Fig.
Fabaceae. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1265 (CAN, UTC); 1299 (CAN, UTC).
Occasionally encountered in the MDRS area, this spring-flowering species was conspicuous in sandy washes (Fig.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1286 (CAN, UTC).
Given the non-flowering nature of this specimen, our identification here is tentatively made, based on vegetative morphology. This species was only encountered once in the MDRS area. This species is endemic to this region (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1301 (CAN, UTC).
Only seen once along the side of a road northeast of MDRS, this large, showy milkvetch is apparently uncommon in the operational area (Fig.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1280 (CAN, DAO, UTC).
Occasional on sandy soils northeast of MDRS, this species is endemic to the San Rafael Swell and surrounding deserts (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1280 (CAN, MT, UTC).
This species was occasionally encountered on sandy plains northeast of MDRS (Fig.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1287 (CAN, UTC).
This species was occasionally encountered on sandy plains northeast of MDRS (Fig.
Fabaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Onagraceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae. Photos by P.C. Sokoloff.
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1315 (CAN, UTC).
Only encountered once as a vegetative specimen on "Hab Ridge", on gravelly clay soil characteristic of its range in Utah (
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1292 (CAN, UTC).
The taxonomy of A. fragrans and A. elliptica A. Nelson has a complicated history in Utah, with
We documented two new species in one new genus and one previously-documented genus for the MDRS area. We also made a collection of a species previously known from the station: Oenothera cespitosa subsp. navajoensis W.L. Wagner, Stockhouse & Klein M.E. Jones (Sokoloff et al. 1279).
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1307 (CAN); 1313 (CAN, UTC).
A Colorado Plateau endemic (
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1288 (CAN).
This species was only encountered once in the MDRS area as an inconspicuous vegetative specimen; fieldwork during this species' flowering time may reveal it to be common in the area. The taxonomy of this group has fluctuated, with
We documented two new species in two new genera the MDRS area. We also made collections of species previously known from the station, including: Achnatherum hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Barkworth (Sokoloff et al. 1282) and Sporobolus airoides (Torr.) Torr. (Sokoloff et al. 1294).
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1321 (CAN, UTC).
Though not reported from the San Rafael Swell (
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1274 (CAN, UTC); 1295 (CAN, UTC).
Widespread across North America (
We documented two new species in one known genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1305 (CAN, UTC).
Common in the Four Corners states, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska (
Specimens Examined: Utah, Wayen County: Sokoloff et al. 1270 (CAN); 1272 (CAN, UTC).
Encountered occasionally in the MDRS area on sandy washes and clay soils (Fig.
We documented one new species in one new genus for the MDRS area.
Specimen Examined: Utah, Wayne County: Sokoloff et al. 1300 (CAN, UTC).
This species is common along the banks of the Fremont River south of the MDRS area, just south of Utah State Route 24 (P. Sokoloff, pers. obs.). This particular collection is the nearest-known population to MDRS and the only one encountered in the operational area in many years of fieldwork (S. Rupert, pers. obs). Consisting of one large tree and two smaller saplings (Fig.
Adding our current inventory to the vascular plant list in our earlier work (
Nine new families are documented for the MDRS area (Amaryillidacaeae, Anacardiaceae, Apiaceae, Asparagaceae, Caprifoliacaeae, Cleomaceae, Loasaceae, Nyctinaginaceae and Salicaceae). The remaining nine families that contain new species for the MDRS area (Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginacaeae, Brassicaceae, Cactaceae, Fabaceae, Onagraceae, Poaceae and Polygonaceae) are relatively species-rich in the deserts of southeast Utah (
Species were scored as annual or perennial based on the USDA PLANTS Database (
The San Rafael Swell and its surrounding deserts are habitat to numerous endemic vascular plant species (
Three of the species newly recorded for MDRS are invasive weeds in the southwest United States: Eremopyrum triticeum, Strigosella africana and Chorispora tenella (we also made one collection of the previously-documented weed Kali tragus). Documenting the occurrence of these taxa through vouchered herbarium specimens will provide important information to land managers working to control these invasive species.
While we have greatly increased the number of vascular plant species known at MDRS, the high diversity documented for the nearby San Rafael Swell and Capitol Reef National Park indicate that there are many species not yet documented for the station. Filling in the gaps in this checklist will require additional field seasons in spring, summer and early autumn and continued botanical exploration of both previously-inventoried and newly-documented sites within the MDRS area. Consulting specimens from local herbaria (and those served in online databases) may provide species occurrence data from the regions around MDRS helpful in the search for new station taxa. Additionally, crews rotating though MDRS may add to the inventory effort through photo-documenting vascular plant species encountered and uploading these images to online databases like iNaturalist.
Continuing to collect and add to the ongoing floristic inventory of MDRS will greatly aid future missions at the station where crews need a local taxonomic checklist (for environmental DNA studies, for example), but also highlights the importance of an expanded mission profile at MDRS. As our knowledge of the local biota at the station increases, this unique place can become a hub for earthbound biodiversity monitoring, in addition to its important role in Martian analogue research.
This study took place within the traditional territory of the Ute and Paiute Peoples. This research was supported by the Mars Society and the Canadian Museum of Nature. We are grateful to Utah State University and Dr. Michael Piep for help with shippping these specimens. Thank you to Jennifer Doubt, Laura Smyk, Lyndsey Sharp, Dr. Chris Deduke, Cassandra Robillard, Kim Madge and Andrea Murphy at the National Herbarium of Canada (CAN) for help processing these specimens. Thank you to Dr. Jeff Saarela for assistance with identification and confirmation of grass specimens. Comments from Dr. Mike Moore greatly improved this manuscript and the first author thanks David Carpenter and Dr. Warren Cardinal-McTeague for many constructive conversations about this project.