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Field Guide

Jon P. Rebman, Ph.D.

The natural world that I seek out in the desert regions of Baja California and southern California provides me with scientific adventure, excitement towards botany, respect for nature, and overall feelings of peace and purpose.

Since 1996, when Jon Rebman became Curator of Botany, he has concentrated on building research ties between the museum and scientific institutions in Baja California and Baja California Sur. He organized the Museum's hosting of the Second Baja California Botanical Symposium shortly after his arrival, and the Fifth Baja California Botanical Symposium in 2002. He organized the Lindblad Binational Multidisciplinary Expedition to the Sierra San Francisco and the Sierra Guadalupe in 1997, and participated in museum-sponsored binational multidisciplinary expeditions to Guadalupe Island in 2000 and to the Agua Verde-Cerro Mechudo corridor in 2003.

Jon's doctoral research at Arizona State University on the systematics of the chollas of Lower California (both states) included extensive fieldwork conducted under a Fulbright Fellowship, while living in Ensenada. During this time he became fascinated by the varied and often bizarre flora of the peninsula, an interest which continues as a focus of his research.

This interest in the broader floristics of the area has led to another major project for the Botany department—compiling an annotated checklist of the flora of the Baja California peninsula and its islands, with synonymies and literature citations. This project is now, in 2005, nearing completion. Another ongoing floristic endeavor is the updating and maintenance of the Checklist of the Vascular Plants of San Diego County.

The plants of San Diego County now occupy a major portion of Jon's professional effort with his role as the lead botanist in the San Diego Plant Atlas Project. This is a long-term project using volunteer plant collectors to document the floristic diversity of every region of this large and diverse county. At the 2½-year mark, the project has brought in over 16,000 specimens and dozens of new county records.

Dr. Rebman's primary research interest is the systematics of the Cactus family. Jon has continued his work in the Opuntioid cacti, now tackling the prickly-pears, the genus Opuntia (figuratively only).

He is active in public education on the subject of botany, teaching classes and leading field trips for the Museum, as well as participating in organizations for plant enthusiasts and professional botanists.