Antennaria media, July 22, 2021
Common & scientific name
Rocky Mountain pussytoes, Antennaria media
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Grizzly Ridge, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This species of pussytoes has black or blackish-green, phyllaries, is usually found above treeline, and is quite small, like this 3” specimen.
Asclepias speciosus, July 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosus
Family
Showy milkweed, Asclepiadaceae
Location
Roadside, 8,300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A newcomer to Independence Pass, and perhaps a sign of plants moving up in response to climate change, this large, dramatic plant is best known for its association with monarch butterflies, who depend on it for food and for making it unappealing to predators (the sap in showy milkweed is poisonous).
Collomia linearis, July 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Narrowleaf collomia, Collomia linearis
Family
Phlox, Polemoniaceae
Location
Lower Lost Man Trail, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This tiny pink trumpet is one of a handful of annuals found on the Pass, this one particularly high compared to its common, earlier-summer montane locale. The Phlox family, which includes sky pilot, scarlet gilia, and dwarf phlox, among others, is without doubt one of our most delightful, and diverse, families of wildflowers.
Arenaria congesta, July 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Ballhead sandwort, Arenaria congesta
Family
Pink, Caryophyllaceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,900’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Ballhead sandwort (poorly named, it seems to me, in light of its hardly “ball-like” clusters of flowers—usually only a few) lines the trails in dry, rocky, sandy soils. Its spindly appearance makes it easy to overlook, but a close-up viewing of its intricate, lovely flowers, like many in the Pink family, will inspire new appreciation!
Epilobium anagallidifolium, July 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Alpine willowherb, Epilobium anagallidifolium
Family
Evening primrose, Onograceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trailhead, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Epilobiums are notoriously difficult to tell apart, as they often are found in the same areas (near water in the subalpine and alpine), but this ones flowers are always nodding, as seen in the photo, and its leaves don’t have teeth. Like all members of the Evening primrose family (and the Mustard family), it has four petals, here rosy.
A lovely, delicate plant almost always found streamside, or in mossy areas like those below, and often in the company of the next, equally lovely and delicate plant, Micranthes odontoloma, Brook saxifrage.
Swertia perennis, Jun 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Star gentian, Swertia perennis
Family
Gentian, Gentianaceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
After the oh-so-different green gentian, which grows 3-6’ tall and blooms midsummer, this is often the first purple gentian to bloom, and marks the beginning of the end of wildflower season. Always found in wet meadows, star gentian, with its soft-purple coloring and pointed petals, can be found as a singular treat or in the company of dozens. It is a poignant reminder of the nearing end of summer—enjoy it fully!
Oxyria digyna, July 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Mountain sorrel, Oxyria digyna
Family
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Heart-shaped leaves and red and green flowers then seeds make this charming alpine plant unmistakeable. The leaves are edible and have been enjoyed by humans and wildlife alike for millennia.
O. digyna, turning fall colors, above Linkins Lake, 12,300’, August 18, 2021
Bistorta vivipara, July 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Alpine bistort, Bistorta vivipara
Family
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae
Location
Linkins Lake , 12,000
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
"Vivipara" is Latin for "brings forth alive.” A viviparous plant reproduces from buds that form plantlets while still attached to the parent plant. In the case of Bistorta vivipara, little red bulblets (that can be seen on the left side of the plant in the photo) are produced below and next to its small, white flowers.
B. vivipara, Champion, 12,500’, July 27, 2021
Gentiana parryi, July 21, 2021
Common & scientific name
Bottle gentian, Gentiana parryi
Family
Gentian, Gentianaceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This bright, blue-purple goblet puts out one to a half-dozen blooms per plant (alpine plants tend to have single blooms, lower growing), opening fully only in sunshine. This is and its other purple gentian cousins are some of the last wildflowers to grace the Pass above treeline—enjoy!
Symphyotrichum spathulatum, July 20, 2021
Common & scientific name
Western mountain aster, Symphyotrichum spathulatum
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lower Lost Man trailhead, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Can be distinguished from S. foliaceum by its skinnier, pointier phyllaries, and skinner, longer leaves. That being said, this is known to hybridize with S. foliaceum, so if you find something that has characteristics of both, or lies somewhere in between, well, in a sense you’ve found both!
S. spathulatum, Indy ghost town, 10,800’, August 4, 2021
Gaultheria humifusa, July 20, 2021
G. humifusa, July 20, 2021
Common & scientific name
Alpine spicy wintergreen, Gaultheria humifusa
Family
Heath, Ericaceae
Location
Discovery/Braille Trail, 10,400’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
An evergreen found in moist subalpine forests, uncommon in our area, even more uncommon to find one of its delightful, but tiny flowers—just a few millimeters in size. Both its leaves and red berries are edible. Thank you, Janis Huggins, for pointing me to this wonderful plant!
G. humifusa in fruit, September 7, 2021
Galium aparine, July 20, 2021
Common & scientific name
Cleavers, Galium aparine
Family
Madder, Rubiaceae
Location
Weller Trail, 9,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
The name cleavers means "to cling," in this case by hooked hairs on both this plant’s leaves and seeds. This is one of the rare annuals found on the Pass.
Trifolium hybridum, July 20, 2021
Common & scientific name
Alsike clover, Trifolium hybridum
Family
Pea, Fabaceae
Location
Roadside, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Despite its scientific name, alsike clover is not a hybrid. Its common name comes from the town of Alsike in Sweden, where Carl Linnaeus thought it was a cross between white clover (T. repens) and red clover (T. pratense): in fact, it is its own species.
Aconytum columbianum, July 20, 2021
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.
Corallorhiza maculata, July 20, 2021
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.
Symphyotrichum foliaceum, July 20, 2021
S. foliaceum, Grizzly ridge, 12,800’, July 22, 2021
Common & scientific name
Leafy aster, Symphyotrichum foliaceum (Aster foliaceus)
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lower Lost Man trailhead, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
What an incredibly variable plant this late-summer aster is! Its wider “petals” (ray florets)and broader, layered, leaf-like phyllaries distinguish it from the earlier-blooming Erigerons. In subalpine and alpine meadows, it commonly grows just 6” high, with few flower heads, and is often a deep purple/lavender as shown at left. Roadside it grows up to 3’ high with many (lighter-colored) flowered heads and noticeably red stems (see below). And sometimes it’s in between (see bottom).
I just wish they had come up with a more memorable, or pronounceable, or spell-able, name to replace “Aster” with . . . .
Erigeron elatior, July 20, 2021
Common & scientific name
Tall fleabane, Erigeron elatior
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lower Lost Man trailhead, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Despite its common name, what sets this daisy apart is its extremely fuzzy, purple phyllaries. Can be found in subalpine aspen forests and wet alpine areas.
Oreochrysum parryi, July 20, 2021
Common & scientific name
Parry’s goldenrod, Oreochrysum parryi
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside, 10,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
For many years this flower was in the Solidago (goldenrod) genus, and it certainly looks a great deal like our Solidago multiradiata or S. simplex—just bigger. The flower heads are bigger, its leaves are wider and longer, and its phyllaries and bracts are leaf-like (aka bigger!)
Erigeron coulteri, July 20, 2021
E. coulteri, July 20, 2021
Common & scientific name
Coulter’s daisy, Erigeron coulteri
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lost Man trailhead, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This is one of our most common late-summer daisies, blooming from the montane to the alpine in meadows and moist woodlands. It is of medium height (usually less than a foot), has bright white, very thin ray florets (petals), and has white and black hairs on the underside of its flowerhead (on its phyllaries—see photo below left). If you see a giant version of this, standing several feet tall, with fewer but wider petals, you are seeing Engelmann’s aster, another late-summer bloomer.
E. coulteri, July 20, 2021
Chamerion latifolium, July 20, 2021
C. latifolium, Grizzly Creek, 11,500’, July 22, 2021
Common & scientific name
Dwarf fireweed, Chamerion latifolium
Family
Evening primrose, Onagraceae
Location
Lower Lost Man, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Smaller plant and larger flowers than its close cousin, Chamerion angustifolium, and won’t be found roadside but rather creekside. It is the national flower of Greenland: good choice, Greenland!
C. latifolium, Tabor Creek, 10,250’, July 28, 2021