woolly bonnets, Eatonella nivea, California, Inyo County, White Mountains, Bitterbrush Flat, Deep Springs Valley watershed, elevation 2018 m (6620 ft).
Rare at the Park. A few on wet slope above canyon. The rounded ball-like structures are ripening sporangia.
Plants numerous, but scattered. Growing in sand, silt, and gravel in 0.5 to 1 meter of water.
Leaves 6-10 cm in length.
Megaspores 450--550 μm in diamemter; uniformly echinate, spines thin and sharp, not reduced near the equator; girdle obscure.
Ligule conspicuous, deltoid, >1 mm long.
Note: Isoetes echinospora was previously recorded at Lake Padden by legendary botanist/plant collector Wilhelm Suksdorf in 1890.
NOTE: location is approximate, and the GPS coordinates are not precise. This is a very rare species and should be treated as such. It should be considered highly endangered, despite its entire range being within the designated Eagle Cap Wilderness area, global warming and the resultant climate change being an existential threat to its survival, which is likely dependent on sufficient, reliable, and well-timed snowmelt.