2020 Wildflower Checklist
Collinsia parviflora, May 14, 2020
Collinsia parviflora en masse, June 4, 2020
Common & scientific name
Blue-eyed Mary, Collinsia parviflora
Family
Snapdragon, Scrophulariaceae
Location
Below Weller curve in conifers, elevation 8,900’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This tiniest of flowers—“parviflora” is Latin for “small-flowered”—will test your eyes (or prescription), but will reward you with its intricate, unusual shape and lovely blue and white petals.
Arnica cordifolia, May 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Heartleaf arnica, Arnica cordifolia
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
In the woods near the river between the winter gate & Weller, elevation 8,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
From the highly excellent online resource, www.swcoloradowildflowers.com: “Since seeds of Arnica cordifolia are produced without fertilization . . . off-spring are genetically identical to their parents. The patches of Arnica cordifolia are, therefore, clones and this accounts for the wide variability of Arnica cordifolia characteristics from one location to another. Since there is no pollination there is no blending of characteristics to a common denominator.” Ah-ha! Look for them in varying form in our evergreen forests everywhere.
Noccaea montana, May 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Wild candytuft, Noccaea montana
Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae
Location
Along the Roaring Fork River between the winter gate & Weller, elevation 8,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This ubiquitous flower is one of our earliest bloomers. It can be found from the valley floor in Glenwood Springs in April to the highest peaks on the Pass in July. Like all mustards, it is edible, but less bitter than most.
Mahonia repens, May 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Creeping Oregon grape, Mahonia repens
Family
Barberry, Berberidaceae
Location
Above winter gate, elevation 8,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This hardy plant is abundant throughout our area. An evergreen, it is able to withstand many degrees of heat, cold, and drought, and its leaves turn a beautiful red in the fall (some of which remain red in the spring, as seen in this photo). The berries are edible, but much more delicious to bears than people!
Ribes cereum, May 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Wax currant, Ribes cereum
Family
Currant, Grossulariaceae
Location
Weller Curve, elevation 9,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Ribes is native to western North America. R. cereum’s edible berries are soft and juicy, with a mild but fruity taste. Unlike other area species of Ribes, its berries are smooth—try one later in the summer!
Packera tridenticulata X neomexicana, first seen May 8, photo above June 1, 2020
Common & scientific names
Threetooth ragwort, Packera tridenticulata X New Mexico groundsel, P. neomexicana
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Weller Curve, elevation 9,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This flower is most likely a cross, i.e, a hybrid, between the two species named above, with its basal leaves having three lobes (“teeth”) and the plant having a hairy, cobwebby appearance overall (like the neomexicana species). The Packera genus’s family, the Sunflower family, is considered the most highly evolved of all flowering plants: what appears to be one “flower” actually consists of many tiny flowers aggregated together in a flower head consisting most commonly of ray flowers (the “petals”) and disk flowers (the “button” in the middle). This aggregation strategy is thought to attract more pollinators.
Corydalis caseana, May 8, 2020
Common & scientific names
Golden smoke, Corydalis area
Family
Fumitory, Fumariaceae
Location
Between winter gate and Weller, elevation 8,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
One of only four species found in Colorado from the Fumitory family, abundant in the east and on the west coast. These unusual flowers are related to Dutchman’s breeches and Bleeding-hearts, and are the yellow cousin of one of Colorado’s most spectacular flowers, Case’s fitweed, Corydalis caseana, found only in wetter areas of Colorado like Marble and Crested Butte.
Boechera gracilenta, May 1, 2020
Common & scientific names
Selby’s Rockress, Boechera gracilenta
Family: Mustard, Brassicaceae
Location: Weller Curve, elevation 9,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
”The taxonomic complexity of the Boechera genus is legendary,” proclaims the Flora of North America. Truer words have never been spoken. Telling the different species apart requires examining the plant’s hairs under a microscope, along with the shape and length of its silique (seed pod). “A rare confluence of hybridization, apomixis, and polyploidy makes Boechera one of the most difficult genera in the North American flora.” Having examined all parts of this delightful, delicate spring flower in all its stages of growth, I am putting my money on B. gracilenta (called by some B. selbyi). Don’t hold me to it, though!
