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Every Leaf Speaks Botanical Studies

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United States
Joshua Tree, CA
Every Leaf Speaks Botanical Studies

Delve into field study of flora/ecology, herbalism courses, and guided naturalist hikes. I am currently pursuing a degree in conservation biology.

My name is Christina Sanchez, I am based in the Mojave Desert but am from the Eastern Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert, a subsection of the Sonoran Desert. My interest in the natural world was ingrained as a child, growing up in the desert among the very native plants that have sculpted my desire in studying ecology. I'm a Desert Ecologist, Environmental Activist, UC Climate Steward, California Naturalist, Bio-regional and Clinical Herbalist having studied field botany, and ecology at Columbines School of Botanical Studies in the PNW. I have studied several modalities of herbalism including Traditional Western, Clinical, Neo-Eclectic, Folk Herbalism, and Plant Spirit Medicine. I am a subcontractor for an environmental consulting firm, I host naturalist hikes, plant ID walks, plant surveys, hands-on herbalism workshops, herbal consultations, and have an online ZOOM Foundational Herbalism apprenticeship. I host grass-roots events from desert clean-ups to invasive plant removal. In my free time I volunteer with conservation non-profit organizations and the Joshua Tree National Park vegetation department where we are establishing climate change study plots and rare plant monitoring.

02/04/2026

New gig!

01/21/2026

Wow. I am just so amazed by all of the growth I am seeing in the desert right now.😍

Plants are flowering out of season. Species that should be dormant are leafing out and producing new vegetative and reproductive growth. We are seeing many annuals up and in flower, and many perennials leafing out and blooming too. It is a strange moment in the desert, and it really feels like spring is arriving early. If this is any sign of what is coming, spring is going to be incredible.

Here we are looking at silver cholla, Cylindropuntia echinocarpa. A fun fact that surprises a lot of people is that cactus spines are actually modified leaves. Those fleshy green structures you see at the tips of the cholla segments are also modified leaves. They are deciduous and will eventually be replaced by spines.

We are also looking at the fruit. As the fruit matures and dries, it can detach from the plant or break apart. Dispersal happens in a few different ways. Wind can move dried fruits and segments across the ground, and the barbed spines easily catch onto fur, feathers, clothing, and shoes. This hitchhiking strategy allows the plant to move across the landscape without actually going anywhere on its own.

This is why cholla is often called “jumping cactus,” but it does not jump. If you have ever walked through the desert and suddenly found one attached to you, you have experienced this dispersal strategy firsthand. It is not aggression, it is just plant ecology. Carrying tweezers while hiking is always a good idea. If not, a couple of sticks work well for removing a segment if you get tangled up.

Cacti do not jump at us. We just need to be mindful of where we walk, sit, and kneel. They are beautiful, resilient, and definitely a little gnarly.

If you have chollas on your property, it can be helpful to rake up fallen fruits and segments, especially after strong winds. This can help manage where new plants establish.

01/16/2026

It’s been a minute since I last posted! Life’s been full, between teaching in the field, cat rescue and work, and getting set up as a 501c3, there’s been very little “me” time.

Yesterday, I was back at JOTR with Tasha in the herbarium, keying out collections and verifying IDs. I spent some time on Cryptantha, patiently trying to get at the nutlets, the tiny diagnostic parts that help in ID. Carefully, carefully… trying not to break them, or send them flying off the stage of the scope. Tasha’s tip to mount them on tape. Even then, some still went flying!

Photo # 1: Cryptantha pterocarya var. pterocarya

Photo # 2: Aristida purpurea var. nealleyi

Botany is bitchin

10/12/2025

Hey folks follow me at 🎨 It’s weekend two of the Highway 62 Art Tours✨

The tours run from 10 to 5 pm, and I’ll be popping in to join my friend Steve in Morongo Valley at Studio 146 (48908 Palo Verde Rd).

Steve is an amazing mixed media artist who creates incredibly realistic landscape portraits that capture the soul of the desert. This weekend we’re helping support him and his partner Clay as they raise money for medical bills for their sweet dog Penelope. 💛

I’ll be offering tuna (prickly pear fruit shrubs) made with locally sourced fruit from 🌿 Proceeds from the sales of the prickly pear shrubs will go toward helping Steve and Clay cover Penelope’s medical care.

My friend Debra will also be there offering tarot and aura readings with a suggested donation of 25 dollars, which will also go toward this good cause. Debra has such a kind, gentle energy, and she often donates her time and readings to help support senior and special needs cats.

Come by, support local art, sip something herbal, get a reading, and help out a kind neighbor and fellow artist. 💚

These shrubs are nonalcoholic and low glycemic, made with a whole lot of love.✨

06/11/2025

Looking for a foster, a rescue or anyone interested in giving these sweet senior (over 15 years old) a home. He is one of the kitties at one of the Morongo Valley hoarder situations I have been helping spay/neuter and rehome kitties.

The owner has early stages of dementia and needs to move with family and cannot take his cats.

Please share, tag rescues, folks who can help. I need help and cannot take in this sweet boy.

He does well with other cats, unsure about dogs.

05/11/2025

Been a tough, sleepless week helping a friend with a search-and-rescue effort for a displaced cat. We’ve been setting and checking multiple traps, refreshing feeding and watering stations, and monitoring the area with trail cams—doing everything we can to bring her home safely.

But even in the middle of all this, I can’t help but to notice beauty like this striking Cylindropuntia echinocarpa, Silver Cholla. It’s so tall and vibrant, almost tree-like in stature. This little cholla “tree” stands just under my height (I’m a bit under 6 feet), and I can only imagine how incredible it looks in full bloom.

Please send some good thoughts that this kitty finds her way into one of the traps soon. If anyone nearby has an extra trap or wildlife cam we can borrow, please reach out. Thank you 💛🐾

05/07/2025

These two little ladies are on standby for the spay/neuter clinic, and I urgently need fosters for them.

The grey tabby came from a hoarding situation in Morongo Valley and will not be returning. She had a litter almost three months ago and is about 6–7 months old herself. She’s shy and skittish, so ideally I’d love to find a quiet, patient home where she can decompress and settle in.

The white kitty is from a different hoarder in Morongo Valley. She’s friendly and socialized but cannot go back to that environment—it’s filthy and unsafe. Two cats previously pulled from this same home had fleas, respiratory infections, and pyometra (a severe uterine infection that can occur in unspayed females). This hoarder claims to want to rehome the cats, but she recently admitted another one is already pregnant after telling me the males were separated. Now she’s refusing to surrender the pregnant cat so she can be spay-aborted.

This situation is heartbreaking, and I’m at my wit’s end. Please reach out if you can foster or share to help me find support. These girls deserve better.

Thank you.

04/02/2025

The San Jacinto Family Needs Your Help!

I’ve been helping an elderly man in the early stages of dementia get his unaltered cats fixed. Sadly, due to his health, he must move in with family out of state, leaving behind his colony, which also are in need of homes. I need help finding homes for his cats. One is a senior cat, others are young. If anyone knows of a cat sanctuary, please let me know. Some are shy, and need to be socialized.

I was able to trap the young mama cat and scoop up her two kittens and get them into foster care. Mama is very shy and is still hiding under the heated cat house, but the foster is working on coaxing her out. Today, I received a generous donation of a cat tree, hopefully, it will encourage the kittens and mama to start playing and feeling more comfortable.

If anyone has unused cat toys they’d like to donate, we’d love to have them! You can also support them by visiting the Amazon Wishlist or making a tax-deductible donation via PayPal.

📌 PayPal: info@kittycorralers.com

📌 Amazon Wishlist: Amazon Wishlist

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2AA96SJB0MLMH?ref_=wl_share

Every little bit helps this family grow up happy, healthy, and ready for adoption.

Thank you for your support!

Address

Joshua Tree, CA
92252

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm

Website

https://www.everyleafspeaks.org/

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Our Story

Hi there my name is Christina, I’m a bioregional herbalist, naturalist, environmentalist, trained in field botany and ecology student based in the Mojave Desert and founder of Every Leaf Speaks Botanical Studies. My mission is to connect others with the earth, build community, tending of wild spaces and introduce the world of herbalism to folks.

Visit my website everyleafspeaks.org events calendar for information on upcoming events or my page events and the launch of the new Every Leaf Speaks Botanical Studies herbal school.