Like Carmen, I am also working in the Pryer Fern Lab, so the work we are doing is very similar. I am also in the process of working to identify a hybrid fern species, but the species I am working with is a Cheilanthes eatonii x Cheilanthess covillei hybrid. Cheilanthes eatonii is a beautiful fern found mostly in the Southwestern United States and Cheilanthes covillei is primarily a Californian plant. We have several specimens of the (likely) hybrid that I am working with that came from areas around Oklahoma and Colorado.

In the lab so far, I have done DNA Extraction and PCR with my hybrid specimen, and ran a gel with the amplified DNA last Friday with results that look good but that I still need to analyze. The final goal of this little mini-project is to get me comfortable in the Pryer Lab and hopefully get my name on a declaration of this hybrid fern species. My mentor, Amanda, has been incredibly helpful getting me oriented in the lab, teaching me new protocols, and giving me tons of background about ferns, genetics, and biological practices. She is also really fun to hang out with, and I have a blast each time I come into the lab. Recently, we have started dreaming about a field trip to South America some time in the future, but alas those dreams are a long ways out.