Taraxacum scopulorum, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Dwarf alpine dandelion, Taraxacum scopulorum
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Geissler, 13,100’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Standing only a couple inches tall and with a small head and blackish bracts that don’t bend down and outward, this native subalpine to alpine dandelion can be distinguished from its lawn-loving (and everywhere-loving) cousin by these traits.
Potentilla subjuga, July 7, 2022
Front side of leaf
Common & scientific names
Colorado cinquefoil, Potentilla subjuga
Family
Rose, Rosaceae
Location
Above Linkins Lake, 12,300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known facts
Distinguishable from other potentillas by its 3-5 upper leaflets extending out from one point with 1-2 pairs of leaflets lower down on the petiole (the leaf stem), backside fuzzier (see photos below), usually above treeline.
Back side of leaf
Tonestus lyallii, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Lyall’s goldenweed, Tonestus lyallii
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Below Geissler, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Distinguishable from its close cousin, T. pygmaeus, by the gland tipped, pinhead hairs on its leaves. Named after the early-19th century Scottish explorer, David Lyall.
Oxyria digyna, July 7, 2022
O. digyna, Top Cut 12,100’ July 14, 2022
Common & scientific name
Mountain sorrel, Oxyria digyna
Family
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae
Location
Geissler, 13,100’
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, in fruit, above Linkins Lake, 12,800’, August 5, 2022
Erigeron vagus, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Rambling daisy, Erigeron vagus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Geissler, 13,200’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This tiny talus-lover standing just a couple inches high has a single, relatively large flowering head above wonderful three-toed leaves covered with glandular hairs, giving it a soft, gray appearance. It is named for the long, elastic caudices (underground root stems) that can shift with moving talus.
Erigeron grandiflorus, July 7, 2022
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.
Arenaria congesta, July 7, 2022
A. congesta close-up, Linkins Lake Trail 11,700’, July 19, 2022
Common & scientific name
Ballhead sandwort, Arenaria congesta
Family
Pink, Caryophyllaceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,500’
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!
Erigeron peregrinus, July 7, 2022
Phyallaries
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).
Thalictrum sparsiflorum, July 6, 2022
Common & scientific name
Few-flowered meadowrue, Thalictrum sparsiflorum
Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae
Location
Roadside, 9,700’
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 and overall size are smaller and more delicate, and it is much less common, preferring wet, protected areas like rivulets or seeping rock walls.
Stellaria longipes, July 6, 2022
Common & scientific name
Long-stalked starwort, Stellaria longipes
Family
Pink, Capryophyllaceae
Location
Lost Man, 10,900’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This oh-so-delicate wildflower, standing just a few inches tall on a hairless, slender stalk with widely-spaced, opposite, grass-like leaves, can be found throughout the subalpine and alpine but seems to favor rocky outcrops or meadows streamside. “Stellaria” means “star” and “longipes” means long-limbed. At last, an aptly named flower!
Sedum lanceolatum, July 6, 2022
S. lanceolatum, 11,500’, August 24, 2022
Common & scientific name
Yellow Stonecrop, Sedum lanceolatum
Family
Stonecrop, Crassulaceae
Location
Lincoln Creek, 9,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Found from the bottom to the top of our valley on exposed, sunny places on rocks or gravelly soil, with yellow, star-like flowers, maroon stems, and succulent leaves. In the same family as King’s and Queen’s Crown.
Potentilla arguta, July 6, 2022
Common & scientific name
Tall cinquefoil, Potentilla arguta
Family
Rose, Rosaceae
Location
Roadside, 9,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
It’s white. Our only white potentilla, and therefore the easiest by far to identify! Now WHY it’s called “tall cinquefoil,” instead of “white,” remains to be answered!
Erigeron speciosus, July 5, 2022
Common & scientific name
Aspen fleabane/Showy fleabane , Erigeron speciosus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside, 8,600
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!
Aconytum columbianum, July 5, 2022
Common & scientific name
Monkshood, Aconytum columbianum
Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae
Location
Upper Lost Man, 11,500’
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.
Rubus idaeus, July 5, 2022
R. ideaus, in fruit, Weller, August 15, 2022
Common & scientific name
American red raspberry, Rubus idaeus
Family
Rose, Rosaceae
Location
Weller Curve, 9,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
The best place to find our delicious wild raspberries, which will bear fruit in August, is in disturbed places like roadside and below Shimer Peak (above Weller Lake), which burned in 1980.
According to a US Forest Service study, "American red raspberry allocates most of its energy to vegetative regeneration [as opposed to flowering and seed production] on recently disturbed sites with favorable growing conditions. With time, initially elevated nutrient levels decline, and shading increases. As growing conditions deteriorate, American red raspberry shifts its reproductive effort to the production of large numbers of seed.”
In other words, raspberry-eating time!
Veronica serpyllifolia, July 4, 2022
Common & scientific name
Thymeleaf speedwell, Veronica serpyllifolia
Family
Figwort, Scrophulariaceae
Location
Lower Lost Man, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This small veronica with its tiny, intricate, four-petaled, blue-white flowers is easily lost amidst other water-loving plants and grasses but merits a closer look. Look for it stream or ditch-side. Its tiny, flat seeds can cling to the feathers of birds, fur of mammals, and shoes of humans, helping spread the seeds into new areas
Saxifraga rivularis, July 4, 2022
S. rivularis, July 4, 2022
Common & scientific name
Alpine brook saxifrage, Saxifraga rivularis
Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae
Location
Jack Creek area, 12,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This total jewel of a flower, also known as “pygmy saxifrage,” is almost always found tucked into wet caves and boulder-created crevasses. It stands just three inches high, is usually single-flowered, has adorably-lobed leaves, and is guaranteed to make your day. Never let rock gardens go unexplored: treasures await!
S. rivularis, above Linkins Lake, 12,800’, August 5, 2022
Corallorhiza maculata, July 4, 2022
Common & scientific name
Spotted corralroot, Corallorhiza maculata
Family
Orchid, Orchidaceae
Location
Lower Lost Man, 10,800’
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. This nifty orchid must be viewed up close to be appreciated!
Saxifrage flagellaris, July 4, 2022
S. flagellaris, Geissler, 13,200’, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Whiplash saxifrage, Saxifraga flagellaris
Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae
Location
Near Scott Lake, 1,2,500’
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!
Agoseris glauca var. dasycephala, July 4, 2022
A. glauca var. dasycephala, July 4, 2022
Common & scientific name
Pale agoseris, Agoseris glauca var. dasycephala
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lower Lost Man, 10,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Much taller than A. glauca, much fuzzier, much bigger head, and found only in the high subalpine or alpine. I love this big fuzz head!