Fuzzy, wasn't he?

Castilleja occidentalis, June 29, 2023

June 29

Cross (?) w/C. rhexifolia, Green Mountain, 12,000’, August 2, 2023

Common & scientific name

Western Indian paintbrush, Castilleja occidentalis

Family

Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location

Twining, 12,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

What a wonderful alpine fuzzball this is! Especially when it hybridizes with other paintbrushes like the magenta C. rhexifolia to create tie-dyed, striped wonders.

While there is much discussion among botanists about the proper classification of paintbrushes, including the genetic difference (if any) between C. occidentalis and the similarly yellowish-white C. sulphurea (also called C. septentrionalis), the two are readily distinguishable in the field by their elevation (C. occidentalis is an alpine plant, C. sulphurea is found lower), their size (C. occidentalis is shorter), and their fuzziness factor (C. occidentalis wins!) It also crosses with other high-elevation Castillejas like C. rhexifolia and C. miniata to create colorful, striped versions, coming soon!

Geissler, 12,800’, July 21, 2023

Red clover, red clover

Trifolium pratense, June 29, 2023

Common & scientific name

Red Clover, Trifolium pratense

Family

Pea, Fabaceae

Location

Difficult, 8,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Seen in every part of the valley, from backyards up to tree line, Red clover hails from Europe and Asia, has pretty pink heads, two-toned leaves, and grows tall if it needs to compete with other plants to reach the sun, staying lower if on bare ground. Like all peas, it is a nitrogen-fixer (more on that later), therefore good for the soil and mostly endured by weed fanatics even though it is non-native.

Don't call a medic

Medicago lupulina, June 28, 2023

Common & scientific name

Black medick, Medicago lupulina

Family

Pea, Fabaceae

Location

Difficult, 8,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Yes, this non-native from Eurasia is the same flower that invades your lawn. However, it is nutritious, loved by bees, and seen in just a handful of roadside locations on the Pass, so not an invasive of concern. The genus name Medicago refers to the region of Iran known as Media, where this plant was believed to have originated.

Feel the burn

Urtica doica, June 28, 2023

Common & scientific name

Stinging nettle, Urtica dioica

Family

Nettle, Urticaceae

Location

Difficult, 8,100’

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!

Baby blues

Hackelia floribunda, June 28, 2023

Gone to seed, July 11, 2023

Common & scientific name

Many-flowered stickseed, Hackelia floribunda

Family

Borage, Boraginaceae

Location

Difficult, 8,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Named after Josef Hackel, an early 19th century Czech botanist, Hackelia floribunda's endearing light-blue flowers become small, flattened nutlets with prickles along the edge, in typical Borage/velcro-like fashion (see photo bottom left). This tall, lovely plant is unusual on the Pass—keep your eyes peeled!

Aspen grove below 82, 8,600’, June 30, 2023

Eat but don't touch (?)

Heracleum maximum, June 28, 2023

Common & scientific name

Cow parsnip, Heracleum maximum

Family

Parsley, Apiaceae

Location

Difficult, 8,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This giant of the aspen forests is unmistakable, for its height and width, its enormous maple-like leaves, and platter-sized white umbels of flowers.

This from a fascinating, and just-discovered (by me) website called The Botanist, sponsored by Islay Dry Gin, which brings together and shares recommendations from foragers: “Cow parsnip has been used historically as fodder for livestock, and the scent of its flowers (the only non-delicious part) is of dung and pigs (to attract midges, flies and hoverflies) perhaps explaining the unglamorous common English name [“Common hogweed," which, needless to say, I will not be using!] . . . . Common hogweed also comes with a health warning. As the leaves develop and start to photosynthesise, it develops a sap that can sensitize the skin to bright sunlight, to the point where a recurring burn appears.”

Rocky Mountain regal

Penstemon strictus, June 28, 2023

June 29

Common & scientific name

Rocky Mountain penstemon, Penstemon strictus

Family

Plantain, Plantaginaceae

Location

Dificult, 8,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

In her fabulous local guide, Wild at Heart, Janis Huggins notes that “with more than 250 species . . . [penstemon] is the largest genus of flowering plants native to North America and one that is still actively evolving—closely related species in the same vicinity readily hybridize.” This being said, it is impossible to mistake our regal Rocky Mountain penstemon for any other kind. It grows only near the bottom of the Pass in sunny, dry areas, and is by far the tallest and lightest blue, lavender, or blue-lavender of the Pass’s half-dozen species.

Beauty subjective

Descurainia incisa, June 28, 2023

Lower leaf

Common & scientific name

Mountain tansymustard, Descurainia incisa

Family

Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location

Difficult, 8,100’

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), photo to come, and their leaves (seen below, a particularly large one), using a good key by Weber or Ackerman. I won’t bore you with how I arrived at D. incisa .

Looks good, smells good, tastes . . . well . . .

Rosa woodsii, June 28, 2023

June 28, 2023

Common & scientific name

Wood’s rose, Rosa woodsii

Family

Rose, Rosaceae

Location

Difficult Campground, 8,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

There are few flowers that cry for attention like Wood’s rose, between its swoony smell and showy flowers ranging in color from light pink to deep magenta. Found most often on the Pass in Aspen groves or roadside, its fruits (“rose hips”) are known for their nutritional value and high vitamin c content, but I’ve generally found them to have a mealy texture and bland taste. I am grateful to the Southwest Colorado Wildflowers website for suggesting they are best eaten after several frosts!

In fruit, Willis Gulch, 10,000’, September 23, 2023

A rose by any other name . . .

Sibbaldia procumbens, June 27, 2023

Upper Lost Man, 12,100’, July 21, 2023

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.

Ruby area, 12,300’, August 4, 2023

I am not a parasite

Pedicularis parryi, June 27, 2023

Common & scientific name

Parry’s lousewort, Pedicularis parryi

Family

Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location

Above Linkins Lake, 12,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

With characteristic beaked flowers and fern-like leaves, this highest growing and smallest of the fascinating Pedicularis genus whorls around on itself in delightful fashion. It is hemiparasitic (hence its move from the Snapdragon family into the Broomrape family), meaning it produces chlorophyll and thus can survive on its own, but obtains additional nutrients from the roots of other plants.

Linkins Lake area, 12,200’, July 11, 2023

Another hairy beast

Erigeron grandiflorus, June 27, 2023

Common & scientific name

Rocky Mountain alpine fleabane, Erigeron grandiflorus

Family

Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location

Above Linkins Lake, 12,300’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This large-headed but small-statured daisy is found throughout our subalpine and alpine meadows. Its ray florets (the parts that look like petals) can number over 100. Its phyllaries (the small leaf-like parts enfolding its ray flowers) are covered in shaggy white and/or purple hairs. It can be distinguished from Erigeron simplex by its vastly hairier leaves, stem, and phyllaries, and I think its always deep-purple ray flowers. Some botanists lump the two, others don’t. I feel they are readily distinguishable, with E. simplex being much more common in our area.

Bedding down for the summer

Paronichia pulvinata, July 5, 2023

Common & scientific name

Alpine nailwort, Paronychia pulvinata

Family

Pink, Caryophyllaceae

Location

Above Linkins Lake, 12,300’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Inconspicuous yellow-green flowers embedded in tight, sometimes large mats, often growing directly on the crumbling granite of our high peaks. This low-lying, wonderfully subtle flower knows how to make the best of things amidst the hard, desiccating winds of the high alpine!

Narcissism earned?

Anemone narcissiflora, June 27, 2023

Common & scientific name

Narcissus anemone, Anemone narcissiflora

Family

Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location

Linkins Lake Trail, 11,800’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

A flower named Narcissus would have LOVED all the attention it gets from scientists! From the authoritative E-Flora: “The taxonomy of this highly variable, widespread species is extremely controversial. The conservative approach taken here most closely approximates S.L. Welsh's (1974) treatment for the Alaskan varieties. E. Hultén's discussion (1941-1950, vol. 4, pp. 735-736) of local races and the variation within this species, however, clearly illustrates the need for a thorough biosystematic investigation. Recognition of about 12 varieties is in light of S. V. Juzepczuk's (1970) work; however, he elevated local races to specific rank in his treatment.” What a complex character, indeed!

What I KNOW is that Anemone narcissiflora can be distinguished from the habitat-sharing, similar-looking Globeflower by its hairy stem, and from Marsh marigold by its divided (rather than simple, smooth-edged) leaves

Meet me by the lake

Kalmia microphylla, June 27, 2023

July 4, 2023

Common & scientific name

Alpine laurel, Kalmia microphylla

Family

Heath, Ericaceae

Location

Linkins Lake, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Is there any more delightful sight than coming upon a high alpine lake or stream lined with Kalmia? Its bright pink petals are fused into a shallow, saucer-shaped bowl, with anthers that are held under spring-like tension until a large-bodied pollinator (like a bumblebee) triggers the stamen and is showered by pollen. Kalmia was named after one of the star pupils of Carl Linnaeus (the inventor of the binomial system and botanist extraordinaire), Peter Kalm, who collected 60 new species for Linnaeus in North America in 1748, including Alpine laurel.

Drilling down on reproduction

Geranium richardsonii, June 27, 2023

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.

A culinary delight

Cornus sericea, June 25, 2023

Common & scientific name

Redosier Dogwood, Cornus sericea

Family

Dogwood, Cornaceae

Location

Difficult, 8,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This lovely, water-loving shrub is enjoyed by dozens of our local animals: its stems and shoots are browsed by moose, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, beavers, and smaller rodents, and its berries are eaten in the fall by bear, rabbits, squirrels, and many birds, including woodpeckers.

June 25

A hairy beast

Draba aurea, June 23, 2023

Common & scientific name

Golden draba, Draba aurea

Family

Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location

Mt. Champion, 11,700’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Ah, the wonderful yellow alpine drabas! Time to get the microscope out to study the hairs on its leaves, the only way to tell the various species apart. This Draba’s hairs are dense, overlapping each other in a tangled mess of cruciform (4-forked) hairs on top of short stalks, giving the plant an overall grayish-green look. This highly variable species can (sometimes, maybe) be distinguished from its close cousin, Draba helleriana, by (usually) the lack of teeth on the edge of its leaves, and its slightly smaller overall stature. Both are (possibly) common on the Pass, unless they’re not: Ackerman does not place D. helleriana in Pitkin or Lake Counties.

Another daisy to delight in

Erigeron pinnatisectus, June 23, 2023

Common & scientific name

Cutleaf daisy, Erigeron pinnatisectus

Family

Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location

Mt. Champion, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Its finely-cut leaves and large, light-purple heads distinguish Erigeron pinnatisectus from other subalpine and alpine daisies. It is common on our rocky tundra.

Psyched to smell a skunk

Polemonium confertum x viscosum, June 23, 2023

Polemonium confertum, Twining Peak, 12,500’, June 29, 2023

Mt. Massive, 14,100’, July 4, 2023

Polemonium confertum, Geissler, 13,000’, July 21, 2023

Common & scientific name

Sky pilot, Polemonium viscosum x confertum

Family

Phlox, Polemoniaceae

Location

Mt. Champion, 12,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

If you’ve ever been scrambling along a rocky alpine ridge and swore you smelled a skunk, you were (sort of) correct! Sky pilot, a common but striking tundra flower, sometimes goes by the name “Skunkweed,” owing to the strong odor it sometimes puts out.

The photo here could be a cross between the two species found here, P. confertum—widely flaring, light blue or blue-purple flower, like the photo bottom left—and P. viscosum, more tubular and deeper purple, as seen below.

P. viscosum, Twining Peak, 13,000’, June 29, 2023

Polemonium confertum, Geissler, 13,000’, July 21, 2023