This daisy doesn't like to be pigeon-holed

Erigeron compositus, June 2, 2021

E. compositus, n.e. of summit, 12,900’, June 23, 2021

Common & scientific name
Cutleaf daisy, Erigeron compositus

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Grottos wall, 9,600’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Cutleaf daisy’s petals—or more properly speaking, its ray flowers, as all individual daisy flowers are composed of multiple ray flowers (the petal-looking parts) and/or disk flowers (which together make up the button-looking part)—can be white, pink, or light blue.  They can also be absent entirely, leaving a head with only yellow disk flowers.

E. compositus, Sayres Ridge, 13,300’, July 2, 2021

First orchid of 2021

Calypso bulbosa, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Fairy slipper, Calypso bulbosa

Family
Orchid, Orchidaceae

Location
Grottos climbing wall area, 9,600’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This early-blooming, circumboreal orchid was named after the sea nymph Calypso of Homer’s Odyssey. Like Calypso, this delicate beauty prefers secluded forest haunts, where she brings delight to the observant hiker.

King of the genera

Eriogonum umbellatum, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Sulphurflower buckwheat, Eriogonum umbellatum

Family
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae

Location
Difficult Trail, 8,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Widespread in habitat, elevation, and appearance, and according to Janis Huggins in Wild at Heart, its genus Eriogonum is “the largest genus endemic to North America, with more than 300 species, fifty of them occurring in the Rocky Mountains.”

E. umbellatum, Grizzly Creek Trail, 11,000’, July 22, 2021

A pointilist paintbrush

Castilleja linarifolia, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Wyoming paintbrush, Castilleja linarifolia

Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location
Roadside below winter gate, 8,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

One of five species of paintbrushes found on the Pass, Wyoming paintbrush (so named because it is the state flower of Wyoming) is found at the lowest elevations on the Pass. Typically this species is identified as a late summer flower, but not on the Pass.  C. linarifolia is the tallest and skinniest paintbrush in appearance, due to its mostly linear leaves, and does not have the soft, fuzzy appearance of its red cousin, Castilleja miniata. It occasionally takes on varying shades of yellow and orange, likely through mutation.

This could be the bane of your existence

Actea rubra, June 2, 2021

A. rubra, in fruit, July 15, 2021

Common & scientific name
Baneberry, Actea rubra

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Roadside, 9,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Let’s be honest: most of us are fascinated by deadly poisonous things.  Especially beautiful deadly poisonous things.  Enter Baneberry.  It begins with a delicate sprig of white flowers, which turn to shiny red or white berries later in the summer—berries that can kill you.  Stop and pay homage to this beautiful, deadly killer!

A. rubra, in fruit, July 15, 2021

A flower looking for a family

Maienthemum racemosum, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Large false Solomon’s seal, Maianthemum racemosum

Family
??? (see below)

Location
Difficult Campground, 8,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Loves aspen groves above all, less delicate in its flower than its close relative, Maianthemum stellatum, False Solomon’s seal, and searching for a loving home.  Different authorities place it in no less than four families or subfamilies: (1) Liliaceae, Lily, (2) Convallariaceae, Mayflower, (3) Asparagaceae, Asparagus, and (4) Ruscaceae, Butcher’s Broom. Confused yet?  Give it ten years and the experts will land on one!

M. racemosum close-up, June 8, 2021

All things bright and beautiful

Viola canadensis, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Canada violet, Viola canadensis

Family
Viola, Violaceae

Location
Difficult Trail, 8,700’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Canada violets, found scattered throughout our woods, are unmistakeable.  They have heart-shaped leaves, bright white petals, and purple lines guiding pollinators to their yellow center.  Here they will come into contact with pollen, which will stick to their legs or bodies and be carried to the next flower for cross-pollination.  Cross-pollination allows for the exchange of genetic information among plants, leading to the extraordinary diversity we see on our hikes.

Stars of the forest

Aquilegia elegantula, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Western red columbine, Aquilegia elegantula

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Difficult Trail , 8,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Nothing lights up a speckled woods like these dazzling red rockets.  They are often found in large groups, and in the same location as fairy slippers.  Look for both in early summer before they’re gone!

A. elegantula, Lackawanna, 10,900’, June 18, 2021

Good day, sunshine

Corydalis aurea, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific names
Golden smoke, Corydalis aurea

Family
Fumitory, Fumariaceae

Location
Difficult Campground, 8,200’

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.

Define "beauty"

Descurainia incisa, May 28, 2021

Common & scientific name
Mountain tansymustard, Descurainia incisa

Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location
Weller Campground area, 9,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Yes, it’s weedy looking, tall and stringy, but it’s native, it’s edible, and it’s part of the great floral melting pot!

Distinguish Descurainia species by their siliques (seed pods), as seen on the photo below, and their leaves, using a good key by Weber or Ackerman. I won’t bore you with how I arrived at D. incisa . . .

D. incisa, roadside 9,200’, June 22, 2021

Word of the day: "cleistogamous"

Viola adunca, May 27, 2021

Common & scientific name
Blue violet & Alpine violet Viola adunca & V. adunca var. bellidifolia

Family
Violet, Violaceae

Location
Twin Lakes, 9,700’ & Linkins Lake, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

As lovely as violets are, they do not rely on pollinators as their primary means of reproduction.  Rather, certain of a violet plant’s flowers don’t develop pollinator-attracting attributes, never open, and stay underground or emerge only after their seeds mature into fruits.  Such self-fertilizing flowers are “cleistogamous.”

Viola adunca var. bellidifolia or V. labradorica, Linkins Lake, June 16, 2021

Shiny, beautiful things

Ranunculus macounii, May 27, 2021

Common & scientific name
Macoun’s buttercup, Ranunculus macounii

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Twin Lakes, 9,700’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Many of us can recall holding a buttercup up to a friend’s chin and seeing its yellow reflection.  This glossy-reflective property on the outside (but not innermost part) of the buttercup’s petals is water repellent, causing dew or rain to drain off and leave pollen floating just at the level of the stigmas and thus aiding pollination.  Most beautiful adaptations are, indeed, useful, as well!

Number two of three wild blueberries

Vaccinium cespitosum, May 26, 2021

V. cespitosum in fruit, Lake Hope, 11,800’, September 18, 2021

Common & scientific name
Dwarf bilberry,  Vaccinium cespitosum

Family
Heath, Ericaceae

Location
Forest/riverside, 8,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Leaves widest above the middle, distinguishing it from its (sometimes) neighbor Vaccinium scoparium or V. myrtillus, but likes its neighbors, producing sweet little blueberries come August!

Bursting with abundance

Cardamine cordifolia, May 26, 2021

Common & scientific name
Heartleaf bittercress, Cardamine cordifolia

Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location
Riverside, 8,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Like all mustards, Heartleaf bittercress has four petals in the shape of a cross, and all its parts are edible (if bitter).  It will bloom in profusion near streamsides all summer.  When it has gone to seed, give its pods a squeeze and watch them burst!

C. cordifolia, June 2, 2021

I am not a sham

Pseudocymooterus montanus, May 26, 2021

P. cymopterus, June 8, 2021

Common & scientific name
Mountain parsley, Pseudocymopterus montanus

Family
Parsley, Apiaceae

Location
Forest/riverside, 8,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This common parsley, seen at every elevation on the Pass, gives scientists fits because of its morphological variability and differences of opinion as to how it should be classified, both genus and species-wise.  But it’s one of our easier plants to identify: it has carrot-like leaves and it’s yellow, unlike any other parsleys on the Pass, which are all white (EXCEPT Alpine parsley, Oreoxis alpina, which is mat-forming and much tinier in all aspects than Mountain parsley).

Precious few wild blueberries

Vaccinium myrtillus, May 30, 2021

Common & scientific name
Bilberry or Wild blueberry, Vaccinium myrtillus

Family
Heath, Ericaceae

Location
Forest/riverside, 8,800’

Fun/weird/little known fact
This wild blueberry is the most common of our three Vaccinium species below treeline.  It also produces less flowers (the sweet little whitish-pink bells shown here), therefore less huckleberries, as they’re often called.  Later in the summer if you can find some, though, they are delicious!

V. myrtillus in fruit, August 6, 2021

Visualize whirled peas

Lathyrus lanszwertii, May 26, 2021

L. lanszwertii, June 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Lanszwert’s pea, Lathyrus lanszwertii

Family
Pea, Fabaceae

Location
Aspens roadside, 8,600’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

A common peavine found everyone on the Pass below treeline, especially in Aspen forests and open meadows.  White with a hint of pink or purple guide lines, it turns rust-colored with age.

Pussytoe vs. Pussytoe

Antennaria parviflora, May 26, 2021

A. parviflora, May 26, 2021

Common & scientific name
Small-leaf pussytoes, Antennaria parviflora

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Forest/riverside, 8,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

It can be difficult to tell our half-dozen-plus pussytoe species apart.  The flowers of Small-leaf pussytoes are white or pinkish (see both photos), and its leaves, fuzzy on both sides, are thin on the stem and wide at the base, where they are either rounded or obtuse at the apex. They spread by stolons—slender stems running along the top of the ground—like strawberries.

Packing in the Packeras

Packera streptantifolia, May 24, 2021

Common & scientific names

Rocky Mountain groundsel, Packera streptanthifolia

Family

Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location

Winter gate, 8,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This early-season groundsel is native to, widespread, and variable throughout the Western Cordillera. Its hairiness depends on the particular plant and its age. It can be distinguished from the other low-elevation Pass groundsel, Packera neomexicana x tridenticulata, by its height (taller), more extensively toothed leaves, and greener (less gray/hairy) appearance.

Cultivating appreciation

Paxistima myrsinites, May 25, 2021

Common & scientific name
Oregon boxwood, Paxistima myrsinites

Family
Stafftree, Celastraceae

Location
Difficult Trail, 8,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Easy to miss as Oregon boxwood’s tiny, cross-shaped flowers hide within the axils of its evergreen leaves.  It’s worth taking note of these rosy gems, though, because this common shrub will be a constant companion on the lower stretches of the Pass.

P. myrsinites, June 2, 2021