The Rogue Wildflower Hunters of Texas

Throughout the year, a small group of botanists and wildflower enthusiasts regularly text each other GPS coordinates from across Texas. When the text comes, they mobilize. Their mission? Save some of the rarest flora in the state. For members like Michael Eason, head of San Antonio Botanical Garden’s rare plant conservation program and author of Wildflowers of Texas, heading to remote locations to save endangered plants is a passion.

“Part of it is also insanity,” he admits. My quest to go rogue with these folks turns out to be more difficult than I expected. They’re often out in the field, so they’re hard to pin down. After months of trying, I prevail when Adam Black, a botanical and horticulture consultant, texts me a map with GPS coordinates and tells me to meet them