Follow the sun and the flies will come

Ranunculus adoneus, June 26, 2020

R. adoneus, July 2, 2020

Common & scientific name
Alpine buttercup, Ranunculus adoneus

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Graham Gulch, 11,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This beaming buttercup emerges along the edges of snowfields immediately after the snow melts, and sports fine, thread-like leaves (compared to its cousin, R. escholtzii).  The flowers of the Alpine buttercup display heliotropism; that is, they track the sun's movement from early morning until mid-afternoon.   Flowers aligned parallel to the sun's rays reach average internal temperatures several degrees Celsius above ambient air temperature, and attract more pollinators (in this case, flies) more often as a result. 

Break on through

Saxifraga bronchialis, June 26, 2020

Common & scientific name
Spotted saxifrage, Saxifraga bronchialis

Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae

Location
Graham Gulch, 11,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This delightfully dainty Saxifrage earns its name as a “rock breaker,” as it is usually found sprouting out of the side of a rock crevice or fracture.  Saxifrages grow as far north as any species of wildflower in the world, and as such are quite at home in our high mountains. 

S. bronchialis, July 17, 2020

Genus vs. genus

Packera dimorphophylla, June 26, 2020

P. dimorphophylla, August 24, 2020

Common & scientific name
Two-leaved groundsel or ragwort, Packera dimorphophylla

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Graham Gulch, 10,500’ & north side summit, 12,500

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A number of yellow sunflowers previously included within the Senecio genus were moved three decades ago into the Packera genus.  P. dimorphophylla has triangular-shaped, clasping stem leaves and can be distinguished from its close cousin, P. crocatus, by its yellower (less orange) color.

P. dimorphophylla, July 8, 2020

Kinnikinnik spelled backwards

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, June 26, 2020

Common & scientific name
Kinnikinnik, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Family
Heath, Ericaceae

Location
Linkins Lake, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Kinnikinnik, or Bearberry (see its scientific name), is a ground-hugging, evergreen shrub with thick, leathery, paddle-shaped leaves that are yellow-green in the spring, dark-green in the summer, and reddish-purple in the fall.  Its tiny, bell-shaped, pink-tipped, white flowers nod in clusters from red stems.  Bright-red berries succeed the flowers and persist into winter.  This wonderful alpine ground cover is equally at home at sea level back east. 

A rose is a rose is a . . .

Sibbaldia procumbens, June 26, 2020

Common & scientific name
Sibbaldia, Sibbaldia procumbens

Family
Rose, Rosaceae

Location
Linkins Lake trail, 11,700’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
At first glance Sibbaldia doesn’t look like it belongs in the Rose family: its three-part leaves are clover ( Pea)-like, and its tiny, greenish-yellow flowers hardly call to mind our showy Wild rose, Rosa woodsii.

Upon closer inspection, however, one finds they do indeed have 5 petals and 5 sepals (the green, leaf-like parts enclosing and protecting the bud/flower), and their leaves are reminiscent of Wild strawberries (in the Rose family). Indeed, upon further consideration, only Rosa woodsii REALLY looks like a rose proper—it’s a wonderfully variable family.

One in a million (well, 35,000)

Platanthera dilatata, June 26, 2020

Platanthera dilatata, July 7, 2020

Common & scientific name
White bog orchid, Platanthera dilatata

Family
Orchid, Orchidaceae

Location
Upper Lost Man trailhead, 11,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
There may be as many as 35,000 species of orchids worldwide, making the Orchid family the largest family of vascular plants.  With 33 species, Platanthera is the largest genus of orchids found in North America.  

White bog orchid, one of our area’s most common, is found streamside, in ditches, and all manner of wet places.  It has nectar-secreting glands that line the spur (the projection on the backside of the flower) that produce an aromatic, sugary reward to attract pollinators (and that creates a beautiful smell for us, as well).  The shape and length of the spur varies from species to species and is co-adapted to fit the tongue-length of pollinating moths or butterflies.

Pygmy bitterroot (that's my name!)

Lewisia pygmaea, June 23, 2020

L. pygmaea, July 7, 2020

Common & scientific name
Pygmy bitterroot, Lewisia pygmaea

Family
Purslane, Portulaceae

Location
Lackawanna ridge, 12,500

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
The much tinier cousin of the state flower of Montana, the Bitterroot, this lavender lovely sits tight on the tundra among its long, fleshy leaves, protecting itself from the cold temps and desiccating winds.  Add it to your list of miniature alpine wonders!

Tundra daisy

Erigeron grandiflorus/simplex, June 23, 2020

Hairy phyllaries of E. grandiflorus/simplex

Common & scientific name
One-headed daisy, Erigeron grandiflorus/simplex

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Lackawanna ridge, 12,800

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This true tundra plant, variously called Erigeron grandiflorus or Erigeron simplex, ranges from lavender to pink to white, has very hairy phyllaries (the whorl of bracts surrounding the flower (actually flowers—as a member of the Sunflower family, the daisy has multiple ray flowers (the “petals”) surrounding multiple disk flowers that make up the yellow middle(the “button”)), and simple (undivided, smooth on the edge) leaves.  This is how to tell it apart from other Erigerons it shares the high country with. 

Climate change bellwether

Dryas octopetala, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Mountain avens, Dryas octopetala

Family
Rose, Rosaceae

Location
Lackawanna ridge, 12,500

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This white, eight-petaled, evergreen-leaved, mat-forming soil stabilizer is playing an important part in the study of climate and climate change. “Fossils of Dryas plants are important to paleo-ecologists studying past episodes of climate change and shifts in arctic-alpine vegetation. Late in the Pleistocene, the climate of the northern hemisphere began to gradually warm as the last great Ice Age went into retreat. On two occasions, the general pattern of warming was abruptly reversed for periods of 300-1000 years and arctic tundra vegetation returned to areas that had been changing to forest cover. Ecologists refer to these periods as the Older Dryas (approximately 13,800 years ago) and the Younger Dryas (11,500-12,800 years ago) because of the prevalence of Dryas fossils. The exact cause of the relatively rapid change in climate (estimated to have taken just a few decades) are still being debated, but may bear on research into contemporary climate change.”  

Info courtesy of the US Forest Service’s wonderful “Plant of the Week” website: go to https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/ to see more.

Fireworks!

Phacelia sericia, June 26, 2020

Common & scientific name
Silky phacelia, Phacelia sericea

Family
Waterleaf, Hydrophyllaceae

Location
Graham Gulch, 11,500

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

With its thick stalks of purple flowers, long, gold-tipped anthers, and silvery-pubescent fern-like leaves, Silky phacelia is one of our handsomest alpine wildflowers, akin to miniature fireworks.  The genus Phacelia is found only in North and South America, primarily in desert areas.  Bees love Silky phacelia, as well!

Phacelia sericea, June 23, 2020

Short life but many offspring

Trifolium repens, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
White clover, Trifolium repens

Family
Pea, Fabaceae

Location
Turkey Rock, 10,200

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

White clover is one of the most widely cultivated clovers for pastures and agricultural purposes in the world.  It is not as hardy as Red clover, though: after only 1–2 years, the original plant dies. It IS, however, a prolific seed producer, so stands of white clover may persist almost indefinitely.

Not just ANY old little yellow flower

Saxifraga flagellaris, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Whiplash saxifrage, Saxifraga flagellaris

Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae

Location
Lackawanna ridge & Twining 13,000

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Covered in sticky, red-tipped hairs, and sending red runners like wild strawberries across the tundra, this is a favorite alpine find that could be missed among the more common yellow alpine flowers (like Alpine avens or any number of Cinquefoils).  Just one more reason to move VERY SLOWLY in the high alpine!

S. flagellaris, July 8, 2020

Colorado native who never left

Penstemon hallii, June 23, 2020

P. hallii in abundance at the summit, July 8, 2020

Common & scientific name
Hall’s penstemon, Penstemon hallii

Family
Plantain, Plantaginaceae

Location
Summit, 12,100

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

A true blue (well, magenta-purple) Colorado native, this brilliant wildflower, large for the tundra, is found mostly near the Continental Divide and nowhere else on the planet—lucky us!  Don’t miss its brief stay.

P. hallii, July 8, 2020

Pearly vs. Pussy

Anaphalis margaritacea, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Pearly everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Roadside between Lincoln & Lost Man, 10,000

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Pearly everlasting, seen roadside and in meadows throughout our valley, grows in profusion via underground stems (“rhizomes”).  It has no ray flowers, just small yellow disk flowers that early in bloom are completely enclosed within papery white bracts, making them appear pearl-like (as in this photo).  And while Pearly everlasting looks like a Pussytoe (Antennaria sp.), it is taller and doesn’t have an extensive mat of small leaves at its base. 

Smooth sailing

Draba crassa (yellow) intermingling with Smelowskia calycina (white), June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Thickleaf draba, Draba crassa

Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location
Lackawanna ridge, 13,000

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Another fairly easy alpine draba, this one has smooth, green, relatively large leaves and relatively large yellow flowers. It likes to sequester itself among rocks and other plants (in this case, Alpine smelowskia) for maximum protection from the elements. This photo shows how much mustard flowers—four petals, always—even of different genera look alike.

Another smelly beauty

Primula parryi, July 15, 2020

P. parryi, July 8, 2020

Common & scientific name
Parry’s primrose, Primula parryi

Family
Primrose, Primulaceae

Location
Lackawanna Gulch, 11,000 & upper Lost Man 12,800

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Known for its big, brilliant magenta flowers and stale-perfume-like smell, nothing lights up a high mountain stream like Parry’s primrose.  Look for its smaller cousin, P. angustifolia, on drier alpine slopes.

P. parryi in typical streamside setting, June 23, 2020

The white in red, white, and blue

Minuartia obtusiloba, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Alpine sandwort, Minuartia obtusiloba

Family
Pink, Caryophyllacaea

Location
Summit, 12,100

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Reminiscent of Alpine forget-me-nots and Moss campion in its matted structure and (relatively) large flowers compared to its leaves, Alpine sandwort thrives, too, on dry, rocky, windy alpine ridges, and is always a treat to encounter.

M. obtusiloba on the summit, June 23, 2020

Oy vetch!

Securigera varia, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Crownvetch, Securigera varia

Family
Pea, Fabacaea

Location
Above the winter gate, 8,600

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Native to Africa, Asia, and Europe, but not here!  This cheery plant is often used to stabilize and beautify roadsides and to rehabilitate soil (as a pea, it is a nitrogen-fixer).  It is currently confined to one small location just above the winter gate, and as long as it stays there, we can all get along!

Delightful, difficult drabas

Draba streptocarpa, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Twisted-fruit draba, Draba streptocarpa

Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location
Summit, 12,100

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This Draba, one of many alpine mustards found on the Pass, will develop a diagnostic twisted silique (seed pod)—“streptocarpa” means “twisted-fruit”—which will aid in identification.  Get ready for more difficult drabas!

Drilling down on reproduction

Geranium richardsonii, June 23, 2020

Common & scientific name
Richardson’s geranium, Geranium richardsonii

Family
Geranium, Geraniaceae

Location
Weller, 9,500

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Distinguishable from its close relative, Geranium viscosissimum, by the sticky, red-ball-tipped (“glandular”) hairs on the stem below its flower, as opposed to the yellow-tipped hairs on G. viscosissimum.

Geraniums have evolved a wonderful method for successfully planting their own seeds.  Its seeds are attached to a reproductive part of the flower, the style, that coils like a spring.  Once it falls to the ground, it coils and uncoils in response to changes in atmospheric pressure, thereby drilling itself and its seeds into the ground.