Tomorrow, permits in hand, Brent Hine and I will be on our way to Nevada, Oregon and Washington on a seed-collecting expedition for two weeks. A trip made possible by the generous support of the Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia, the purpose of the trip is to gather wild collected seed for the Intermountain Dry Habitat House. I chose today's photograph as it is a representation of the areas we'll be collecting in – open landscapes with the occasional herb or shrub amidst the grasses. Between Brent and myself, we're going to do our best to post daily entries about the expedition on the UBC Botanical Garden Blog, though it won't always be possible – some places simply won't have web access. You're invited to follow along on our trip!

The small daisy-like flower in the lower middle of the photograph is Erigeron linearis, or desert yellow fleabane (or linear-leaf fleabane or desert yellow daisy). This plant of western North America will be a constant companion on our trip, as it is found throughout the range of where we will be collecting east of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. Paul Slichter has compiled a factsheet on Erigeron linearis and a few more photographs can be found as part of the Oregon Flora Image Project.