Minuartia rubella, July 11, 2023
Common & scientific name
Beautiful sandwort, Minuartia rubella
Family
Pink, Caryophyllacaea
Location
Above Linkins Lake, 12,300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This delicate plant is easy to miss, as it stands just an inch off the ground and a couple inches in diameter. It grows in tufts, has numerous stems, is glandular, and has grass-like leaves. This is the kind of wildflower that one might only discover by stopping to go to the bathroom!
Erigeron peregrinus, July 11, 2023
July 18, 2023
Common & scientific name
Subalpine daisy, Erigeron peregrinus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lost Man Trail, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
I prefer “daisy” over the more commonly used “fleabane” for this lovely flower—it deserves better! (“Fleabane” apparently referred to the Erigeron genus’s ability to drive away fleas or other insects when burned—which would probably hold true for many things.) This Erigeron can be distinguished from the many lavender/purple erigerons to come this summer by its wider florets and red-tipped phyllaries that curl backward (photo below).
July 18, 2023
Linkins Lake, 12,000’, August 7, 2023
Melilotus officinalis, July 10, 2023
Common & scientific name
Yellow sweetclover, Melilotus officinalis
Family
Pea, Fabaceae
Location
Roadside up to 9,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Yes, this is the same yellow-flowered plant you see growing 3 feet high by the side of the road seemingly everywhere. It stabilizes soil, fixes nitrogen, doesn’t mind roadsides or other disturbed places, and is loved by bees. These are its positive traits. It is also, as you can tell by its abundance, invasive and can potentially crowd out (or at least hide) native species. Thankfully I have not seen it creep into the back country, beyond roadside, where the bees have plenty of other native species to choose from.
Penstemon whippleanus, July 10, 2023
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,900’, July 11, 2023
Common & scientific name
Whipple’s penstemon, Penstemon whippleanus
Family
Plantain, Plantaginaceae
Location
Mountain Boy, 12,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Named for the leader of a transcontinental railroad survey team, this is one of our most unforgettable flowers, with its large, tightly-packed, and unusually colored flowers, ranging in our area from deep-purple to wine-colored to nearly white (photo to come).
Roadside 10,000’, July 10, 2023
With Castilleja occidentalis, Green Mountain, 11,800’, August 2, 2023
Thalictrum sparsiflorm, July 10, 2023
Common & scientific name
Few-flowered meadowrue, Thalictrum sparsiflorum
Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae
Location
Roadside, 10,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Unlike its more common cousin, Fendler’s meadowrue, Few-flowered’s flowers are perfect (both male and female), its leaves are smaller and more delicate (although the plant can be tall in height), and it is much less common on the Pass, preferring wet, protected areas like rivulets or seeping rock walls.
Arenaria congesta, July 10, 2023
Common & scientific name
Ballhead sandwort, Arenaria congesta
Family
Pink, Caryophyllaceae
Location
Roadside, 10,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Ballhead sandwort (poorly named, it seems to me, in light of its rarely “ball-like” clusters of flowers—usually only a few—although this first photo is one of those) 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!
Medicago sativa, July 10, 2023
Common & scientific name
Alfalfa, Medicago sativa
Family
Pea, Fabaceae
Location
Roadside, 8,200’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A quick history of this common roadside, and agriculturally cultivated, plant:
“Alfalfa originated in southwestern Asia, was first cultivated in Iran, and now has a worldwide distribution due to its popularity as an agricultural species. It was introduced into the United States in 1736 in Georgia, but it was not until around 1850 that it began to be more widely planted. It is planted in all 50 states and is widely planted in Canada. It is naturalized in many areas.”
USFS, FEIS website
Senecio wootonii, July 10, 2023
Common & scientific name
Wooton’s ragwort, Senecio wootonii
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside, 10,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
As Senecios go, this one is relatively easy to identify, owing to its smooth, hairless, almost blueish leaves. It is often found in dry meadows or forests (like lodgepoles). Give yourself a round of applause for learning (yet another) Senecio!
Securigeria varia, July 6, 2023
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!
Micranthes oregana, July 6, 2023
Upper Lost Man, 12,400’, July 21, 2023
In fruit, August 26
Common & scientific name
Bog saxifrage, Micranthes oregana
Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae
Location
Upper Lost Man TH, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Distinguishable from Snowball saxifrage by blooming later, being taller, having multi-flowered stems (not just one ball of flowers at the top), always growing in wet places, not having diamond-shaped basal leaves, AND erupting in huge numbers about now in the subalpine & alpine wherever water is found!
In flower & fruit, Upper Lost Man, 12,000’, August 26, 2023
Mitella pentandra, July 6, 2023
In fruit, RFR 9,800’ 8.10.23
Common & scientific name
Five-star mitrewort, Mitella pentandra
Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae
Location
Grottos, 9,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Oh how I love these miniature satellites, these most delicate, complex, and airy of wildflowers. It feels like they shouldn’t even be called “flowers,” they are so totally unique. Look (HARD) for them now in moist woods, and be delighted!
In fruit, RFR 9,800’ 8.10.23
Spergularia rubra, July 6, 2023
Common & scientific name
Red sandspurry, Spergularia rubra
Family
Pink, Caryophyllaceae
Location
Roadside, 11,300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This non-native from Eurasia has been in the US since at least the 1860s, according to Flora of North America, and seems limited in our area to trailhead parking lots. It is a glandular plant with pointed leaves and charming, five-petaled, lavender flowers. A fine parking lot addition!
Oxypolis fendleri, July 6, 2023
Common & scientific name
Fendler’s cowbane, Oxypolis fendleri
Family
Parsley, Apiaceae
Location
Roadside, 11,400’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A most delicate parsley, usually found growing stream or ditch-side tucked in among larger plants. It can be distinguished from other parsleys by the sheaths at the base of its branches (often just one: see photo below), its pinnate basal leaves, not carrot-like (look carefully in photo to left), small (3”) umbels of white flowers, and overall delicate appearance. Apparently poisonous to cattle, hence the name.
Trillium parryi, July 6, 2023
Common & scientific name
Parry’s clover, Trifolium parryi
Family
Pea, Fabaceae
Location
Roadside, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
One of our half-dozen wonderful clovers, found primarily in the alpine in wettish places, and named, as so many plants are, after the 19th century botanist/explorer, Charles Parry. How thrilling it must have been for Mr. Parry to be exploring the West in the early 1800s, seeing new flower after new flower, making one amazing “discovery” after the next (for western science, that is—native Americans had known these plants well for thousands of years).
Castilleja sulphurea, July 6, 2023
Common & scientific name
Sulfur indian paintbrush, Castilleja sulphurea
Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae
Location
Independence ghost town, 10,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
I always had a hard time understanding how the paintbrushes fit within the Snapdragon (Scrophularaceae) family, along with the penstemons and monkey flowers and louseworts. Now I know they don’t (nor, it seems, do the aforementioned: more on that in those plants’ profiles!) Some time in the last few years when I wasn’t paying attention, they got moved to the Broomrape (Orobanchaceae) family, not because of their physical characteristics, but because of their genetics and the fact that they are parasitic on other plants, like other broomrapes.
Plantanthera dilatata, July 6, 2023
Common & scientific name
White bog orchid, Platanthera dilatata
Family
Orchid, Orchidaceae
Location
Roadside, 11,400’
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.
Erigeron speiosus, July 6, 2023
Common & scientific name
Aspen fleabane/Showy fleabane , Erigeron speciosus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside, 8,350
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This red-stemmed, light lavender-to-purple daisy appears in large numbers throughout our area, usually in July. It can be found in montane meadows, roadsides, and to a lesser extent aspen groves—despite its name. According to a 1962 study at RMBL, Aspen fleabane was much more common (100% constancy and 5% average cover) in younger aspen woodlands with a Thurber’s fescue (grass) understory than in mature woodlands with a forb (wildflower)-dominated understory. In other words, it’s not the king of mature aspen groves. Maybe Showy fleabane’s a better fit!
Oenothera villosa, July 6, 2023
Common & scientific name
Hairy evening primrose, Oenothera villosa
Family
Evening primrose, Onograceae
Location
Roadside, 8,300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This tall, striking primrose, often showing its yellow petals wilted during the day as orange, has a red, hairy stem and hairy leaves. It can be seen roadside from the bottom of the Pass to about 9,700’ in elevation. One of the only other families of flowers to have four petals (like the mustards), its flowers open in the evening to invite long-tongued moths in.
Ribes montigenum, July 4, 2023
Common & scientific name
Mountain gooseberry, Ribes montigenum
Family
Gooseberry, Grossulariaceae
Location
North Halfmoon Lakes Trail, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
One of our half-dozen species of gooseberry, producing arguably the tastiest of the group in late summer, Mountain gooseberry’s branches are covered in short prickles along with whorls of thicker, longer spines at the leaf nodes—so pick your berries carefully! It can be distinguished from other gooseberries by its leaves, which are divided almost to the base into three coarsely toothed lobes, and are covered in sticky, glandular hairs. Its berries are bright red and covered in short, tasteless, and totally unharmful hairs. Enjoy the bounty!
Hymenoxis richardsonii, July 3, 2023
Common & scientific name
Richardson’s bitterweed, Hymenoxis richardsonii
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Interlaken/Twin Lakes, 9,200’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This plant, new to me and only found on the lower east side of the Pass near Twin Lakes, was previously misidentified as a Senecio, based on a superficial resemblance (yellow flowers, pretty much). Upon closer examination of its “petals” (ray florets), I noticed they have three teeth, or lobes, just like Old Man of the Mountain. Once the genus was identified, getting to the species was easy. With as many genera of Aster as we have, that is the tricky part, and a reminder that ALL parts of the plant must be closely observed to make a positive ID.