2020 Wildflower Checklist
Pyrola chlorantha, July 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Green-flowered wintergreen, Pyrola chlorantha
Family
Wintergreen/Heath, Pyrolaceae/Ericaceae
Location
Weller Lake trail, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
See Orthilia secunda, One-sided wintergreen, re family uncertainty. This wintergreen can be distinguished from other wintergreens, that it frequently grows near, by its greenish/yellow flowers, red stem, and curved style (the protrusion coming from its flower).
Veronica wormskjoldii, July 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Alpine speedwell, Veronica wormskjoldii
Family
Plantain, Plantaginaceae
Location
Lower Lost Man trail, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Common, variably-sized, delightful subalpine and alpine plant that frequently grows trailside near streams or wetlands. Named after Danish botanist, Morton Wormskjold. Hopefully he didn’t discover too many other plants.
Orthilia secunda, July 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
One-sided wintergreen, Orthilia secunda
Family
Wintergreen/Heath, Pyrolaceae/Ericaceae
Location
Weller Lake trail, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
The above two-family nomenclature reflects the current state of disagreement among botanists as to where this diminutive, dark- woods flower belongs. It is probably the Pass’s most common wintergreen, er, heath . . . .
Lonicera involucrata, July 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Twinberry, Lonicera involucrata
Family
Honeysuckle, Caprifoliaceae
Location
Lower Lost ManTrail, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
From the USDA’s Plant Fact Sheet: “Reports on the fruit vary from poisonous, to mildly toxic, to bitter and unpalatable, to edible and useful as food, depending on tribe, region or publication.” Got it? In any event, its twin berries are eaten by bears, small mammals, quail, grouse, and songbirds such as thrushes. So be safe and leave it be!
Corallorhiza maculata, July 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Spotted corralroot, Corallorhiza maculata
Family
Orchid, Orchidaceae
Location
Weller Trail, 9,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Like other members of its genus, this orchid has no chlorophyll, so it obtains its nutrients not from photosynthesis but through mycorrhizal fungi. It is found in our dry, spruce/fir woods.
Senecio amplectens var. amplectens, July 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Showy alpine ragwort, Senecio amplectens var. amplectens
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lower Lost Man, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
I so love this flower! Something about the way its petals bend and fold in different directions, and the fact that it appears only occasionally in spruce/fir forests in our area, makes this flower feel like a friend too rarely seen.
Rubus idaeus, July 9, 2020
R. idaeus in fruit, August 4, 2020
Common & scientific name
American red raspberry, Rubus idaeus
Family
Rose, Rosaceae
Location
Roadside near Lincoln Creek turnoff, 9,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
The best place to find our delicious wild raspberries, which will bear fruit in August, is in disturbed places like roadside and below Shimer Peak (above Weller Lake), which burned in 1980.
According to a US Forest Service study, "American red raspberry allocates most of its energy to vegetative regeneration [as opposed to flowering and seed production] on recently disturbed sites with favorable growing conditions. With time, initially elevated nutrient levels decline, and shading increases. As growing conditions deteriorate, American red raspberry shifts its reproductive effort to the production of large numbers of seed.”
In other words, raspberry-eating time!
Urtica dioica, July 9, 2020 (in early bloom)
Common & scientific name
Stinging nettle, Urtica dioica
Family
Nettle, Urticaceae
Location
Roadside near Lincoln Creek turnoff, 9,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A native plant found only occasionally on the Pass, usually at the base of rock cliffs or slopes where it can find water. The hollow, stinging hairs on its leaves and stems act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when touched. Use water to alleviate the sting!
U. dioica, July 9, 2020
Aconytum columbianum, July 8, 2020
Common & scientific name
Monkshood, Aconytum columbianum
Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae
Location
Lower Lost Man, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This large, water-loving plant is usually found packed in with other big boys like subalpine larkspur, triangle-leaved senecio, mountain bluebells, and willow, but its flowers will always distinguish it: miniature Darth Vader heads! Don’t let the summer go by without taking a moment to delight in nature’s quirky concoction.
Rumex densiflorus, July 9, 2020
Common & scientific name
Dense-flowered dock, Rumex densiflorus
Family
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae
Location
Roadside near Lincoln Creek turnoff, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A Eurasian non-native, long-lived (50 years!), wind-pollinated so it has no scent. It makes only an occasional appearance on the Pass, generally roadside, and therefore is not a weed of great concern.
Erigeron formossisimus, July 9, 2020
Common & scientific name
Beautiful fleabane, Erigeron formossisimus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lower Lost Man roadside, 10,400’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
THIS is the purple daisy you see roadside, everywhere, around the middle of the Pass (9,500-10,500), standing 6-10” high. To distinguish if from other Erigerons—of which we have MANY—look for glandular, hairy, purplish phyllaries; stems with straight hairs, that usually support a single flower; and stem leaves progressively reduced in size and number as you move up the stem.
Descurainia californica, July 9, 2020
Common & scientific name
Sierra tansymustard, Descurainia californica
Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae
Location
Roadside near Lincoln Creek turnoff, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Almost every wildflower has something fun, weird, or otherwise interesting to say about it. However, when you get into the individual Descurainias, of which we have a handful on the Pass, it gets challenging They’re all a bit gangly, with small yellow cross-shaped flowers and skinny siliques (seed pods). These similarities make them trick to tell apart. This one happens to identify as D. californica owing to the size, shape, and stature of its siliques and the shape of its leaves. If you want more details, you are a worthy botanist!
Pedicularis groenlandica, July 15, 2020
Common & scientific name
Elephanthead, Pedicularis groenlandica
Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae
Location
Upper Lost Man trailhead, 11,500’ & north side summit, 12,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Mother Nature at her most whimsical! Who could not love this faithful reproduction of an elephant’s head on a flower? Enjoy it for the next month in all high, wet places.
P. groenlandica, August 24, 2020
Solidago simplex, July 9, 2020
Common & scientific name
Sticky goldenrod, Solidago simplex
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside near Lincoln turnoff, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
The only sure-fire method of distinguishing this from the other common goldenrod on the Pass, Solidago multiradiata, is to look at the petioles (the leaf stems) to see if they are ciliate-margined (have hairs sticking straight out on their edges). This species also comes in a smaller, alpine version, S. simplex var. nana (photo below).
Solidago simplex var. nana, July 17, 2020
Campanula rotundifolia, July 9, 2020
Common & scientific name
Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia
Family
Bellflower, Campanulaceae
Location
Roadside near Lincoln turnoff, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This IS the bluebell of Scotland (not our smaller Mertensia bluebells). The fact that this plant is sometimes found in areas inhabited by hares—rabbits—may explain its common name. It is commonly found on the Pass in the montane and subalpine zones.
Sedum lanceolatum, July 9, 2020
S. lanceolatum’s lovely, succulent rosettes
Common & scientific name
Yellow Stonecrop, Sedum lanceolatum
Family
Stonecrop, Crassulaceae
Location
Roadside near Lincoln turnoff, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Found from the bottom to the top of our valley on exposed, sunny places on rocks or gravelly soil, with yellow, star-like flowers, maroon stems, and succulent leaves. In the same family as King’s and Queen’s Crown.
Pedicularis racemosa, July 9, 2020
Common & scientific name
Sickletop lousewort, Pedicularis racemosa
Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae
Location
Lower Lost Man trail, 10,400’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Look for this wonderfully-shaped wildflower en masse under spruce and fir trees in the subalpine zone. From the US Forest Service’s wonderful “Plant of the Week” post:
“Traditionally, Pedicularis has been included in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). Louseworts have green leaves and produce their own food through photosynthesis but also have roots capable of capturing nutrients and water from adjacent plants, making them partially parasitic. Recent genetic studies have shown that Pedicularis and other hemiparasitic genera in the Scrophulariaceae (including the Indian paintbrushes, Castilleja) are better placed in the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae), with species that are true parasites that lack green chlorophyll.
Another recent discovery implicates Leafy [Sickletop] lousewort as an alternate host for White pine blister rust. An introduced fungus called Cronartium ribicola causes this infectious disease of five-needled pines [including Limber and Bristlecone pines]. . . . It remains unknown whether Leafy [Sickletop] lousewort has served as an alternate host for blister rust for decades, or if this relationship has evolved only recently.”
Saxifraga chrysantha, August 6, 2020
Common & scientific name
Goldbloom saxifrage, Saxifraga chrysantha
Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae
Location
Lost Man Lake, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A single yellow flower with orange dots at the base of its petals sits atop a 2”-3” red stem covered with gland-tipped hairs (as can be seen in this photo) arising from a sweet little rosette of succulent leaves. Yet another jewel of the alpine! It does not have the red runners of its close cousin, Saxifraga flagellaris.
S. chrysantha, August 6, 2020
Claytonia megarhiza, July 8, 2020
Common & scientific name
Alpine springbeauty, Claytonia megarhiza
Family
Purslane, Portulaceae
Location
Twining Peak, 13,500’ & Tabor Creek, 12,500
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This totally unmistakeable beauty can be found growing among rocks in the high alpine. Its white flowers, colored with yellow centers and pink anthers, are found squeezed tight within a round rosette of succulent leaves that are deep purple at emergence, turn green during bloom, then bright red after.
C. meharhiza, August 7, 2020
Trifolium parryi, July 8, 2020
Common & scientific name
Parry’s clover, Trifolium parryi
Family
Pea, Fabaceae
Location
Twining Peak, 13,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
One of our half-dozen wonderful clovers, found primarily in the alpine in wettish places, and named, as so many plants are, after the 19th century botanist/explorer, Charles Parry. How thrilling it must have been for Mr. Parry to be exploring the West in the early 1800s, seeing new flower after new flower, making one amazing “discovery” after the next (for science, that is—native Americans had known these plants well for centuries).
