In the ongoing research into the fascinating life of Edith Purer, the discovery of her move from Chicago to Los Angeles, to study sand dune plants on the Pacific shores. Coming to Los Angeles may have been influenced by her new professor and advisor at USC, Howard DeForest, or by her own evolving interest in understanding nature. In any event, sand dunes, then vernal pools, and finally salt marshes became the focus of her attention. These three ecosystem types are by their very nature treeless. In her study of sand dunes, she ultimately completed the Ph.D and wrote a book on the small wildflowers of sand dunes in San Diego, California. She wrote a most interesting article on the ecology of the delicate Beach Morning Glory. Later, she underook a study of vernal pools, where again she focused on small wildflowers. And finally, in her studies of salt-marshes, she became involved in the study of grasses and small salt-tolerant plants of estuaries and wetlands. However, it all began in California with the study of those small resistant plants of the coastal strand and coastal dunes in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Acknowledgement Note:
Without the assistance and enthusiasm of Sandy to assist in obtaining the 1933 Ph.D dissertation as a loan from the Missouri Botanic Garden, I could not continue the research of Edith Purer. Sandy also helped with obtaining a clean print-out database of Edith Purer's collections from the San Diego Natural History Museum's Herbarium. Her expertise at websites and webpages has also allowed me to present these webpages to you. Thank you Sandy, a good friend, hiking buddy, and explorer of the Channel Islands.