Big daddy dandelion

Tragapogon dubius, June 8, 2020

T. pratensis, June 16, 2020

Common & scientific name
Yellow salsify, Tragapogon dubius & T. pratensis

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Above winter gate, 8,700’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

A non-native known mostly for its huge, dandelion-like seed head, salsify was introduced from Europe owing to its edible roots.  The pointy phyllaries exceeding its ray florets distinguishTragapogon dubius (top) from T. pratensis (below).

Tragapogon seedhead, August 4, 2020

Patience pays

Ceanothus velutinus, June 8, 2020

Common & scientific name
Snowbrush, Ceanothus velutinus

Family
Buckthorn, Rhamnaceae

Location
Above winter gate, 8,700’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

A native evergreen shrub growing 2-9 feet tall with shiny, sticky leaves, its fruit is a capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain buried for well over 200 years before sprouting.

Really wet then really dry = exquisite!

Iris missouriensis, June 8, 2020

Irises abound at Twin Lakes, June 8, 2020

Common & scientific name
Rocky Mountain iris, Iris missouriensis

Family
Iris, Iridaceae

Location
Twin Lakes meadow, 9,700’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

More modest in size and coloring than its cultivated brethren, but always a thrill to find in the wild (and to this observer’s eye, more beautiful in its delicacy), this wild iris thrives in areas that are extremely wet before flowering and then almost desert-like the rest of the summer (like the large meadow adjacent to Twin Lakes’ western-most lake, left, or the meadow above MM 54 on the west side of the Pass, below).

I. missouriensis, July 7, 2020

The Broomrape family welcomes a new member

Castilleja sulphurea, June 8, 2020

Common & scientific name
Sulfur indian paintbrush, Castilleja sulphurea

Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location
Between Lincoln Creek turnoff & Lost Man TH, 10,100’

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!  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 the broomrapes.

100s of flowers in one

Erigeron grandiflorus/simples, June 8, 2020

Common & scientific name
Rocky Mountain alpine fleabane, Erigeron grandiflorus/simplex

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Mountain Boy basin, 11,200’

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 or purple hairs.

Pussytoe vs. Pussytoe

Antennaria parviflora, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Small-leaf pussytoes, Antennaria parviflora

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Grottos, 9,500’; lower Lost Man, 10,500’

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, 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.

A. parviflora, July 13, 2020

Pika produce

Geum rossii, June 16, 2020

Common & scientific name
Alpine avens, Geum rossii

Family
Rose, Rosaceae

Location
Midway ridge, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Alpine avens, one of our most common alpine plants, can often be seen in the mouth of the Pass’s mascot, the American pika.  This is surprising because Alpine avens contain tannins, bitter-tasting compounds that are intended to make them unpalatable to animals before their fruits or seeds are ripe. (Tannins cause that astringent, mouth-coating feeling you get from biting into an unripe pear—yuck).  However, those same tannins act as preservatives, which help the pika preserve the other plants they store in their winter “haypiles” so they don’t mold or rot during their long winter lock-down. And Alpine avens’ leaves turn a lovely red in late summer, blanketing the browning tundra. So we love Alpine avens!

Smelowskia, smelowskia, smelowskia!

Smelowskia calycina, June 6, 2020

S. calycina, June 4, 2020, typical rocky alpine setting

Common & scientific name
Alpine smelowskia, Smelowskia calycina

Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location
Midway ridge, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

I love this flower so very, very much.  In part because it is one of the first flowers of the season to emerge in the high alpine, so it is always a welcome sight.  In part because it can range dramatically in size depending on how protected it is—there is a bouquet on Treasure Mountain tucked into a large marble boulder that is three times the size of the plants, both stems and flowers, seen in these photos.  In part because its usually white petals sometimes emerge a lovely soft lavender.  But mostly because of its name, in honor of the 18th century Russian botanist T. Smelovskii.  This is one botanical name that is a joy to learn and say!

S. calycina, light lavender version, June 23, 2020

S. calycina with fungus, June 23, 2020

How low can you go

Oreoxis alpina, June 8, 2020

Common & scientific name
Alpine parsley, Oreoxis alpina

Family
Parsley, Apiaceae

Location
Summit, 12,100’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

William Weber, the foremost authority on the flora of Colorado, describes Oreoxis alpina as “a common dwarf alpine on granitic mountains of the Continental Divide.”  Bingo!  This minute yellow flower is a common early summer companion on the high mountains  and ridges of Independence Pass, where it stays low to the ground and protected from wind by surrounding rocks and vegetation.

Word of the day: "cleistogamous"

Viola labradorica, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Alpine violet, Viola labradorica

Family
Violet, Violaceae

Location
Midway ridge, 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.”

A marigold's best friend

Trollius albiflorus, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Globeflower, Trollius albiflorus

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Upper Lost Man trailhead, 11,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

These newly-blooming flowers will morph from light yellow to white over the next several days.  In addition to Marsh marigolds, Globeflowers can be confused with Narcissus-flowered anemones, Anemone narcissiflora, which bloom a bit later and have hairy stems, where Globeflowers are hairless. 

Goodbye snow, hello Marsh marigolds!

Caltha leptosepala, June 4, 2020

Caltha leptosepala and Trollius albiflorous, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Marsh marigold, Caltha leptosepala

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Upper Lost Man trailhead, 11,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

As the snow melts and streams & springs emerge, Marsh marigolds follow suit. They often emerge alongside or at the same time as Globeflowers, Trollius albiflorous.  Marsh marigolds can be distinguished by the blue streaks on the back of their flowers, and by their leaves, which are entire, while Globeflowers’ are palmate and cut. See photo below: Marsh marigolds on the bottom, Globeflowers on top.

Isn't scientific language awesome?

Potentilla diversifolia or glaucophylla, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Blueleaf cinquefoil, Potentilla diversifolia or glaucophylla

Family
Rose, Rosaceae

Location
Midway ridge, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Good luck telling our ten or so species of Potentillas apart!  They are all yellow (except P. arguta, which is white), and their flowers are basically identical, so the key lies in the leaves.  Time for some fun botanical lingo: are they pinnate? (leaflets along each side of a stem, like a feather) or digitate? (lobes radiating from one point, like fingers from a palm); glabrous? (smooth) or pubescent? (hairy); toothed deeply, shallowly, or only on the upper third? (spoiler alert: this last one is key for identifying P. diversifolia, and the answer is yes to the last!)

This could be the bane of your existence

Actea rubra, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Baneberry, Actea rubra

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Weller Trail, 9,300’

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!

Sufferin' saxifrage!

Micranthes rhomboidea, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Diamond-leaf saxifrage, Micranthes rhomboidea

Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae

Location
Grottos, 9,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Saxifrages are one of our most delightful families.  They’re mostly white (sometimes yellow), usually delicate, and always a treat to find.  This will be the first of over a dozen saxifrage species to come on the Pass.

What's in a weed?

Barbarea orthoceras, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
American yellowrocket, Barberea orthoceras

Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location
Weller curve, 9,300’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This is a circumpolar species, meaning it is distributed around the world in the Northern Hemisphere.  If it looks like a “weed,” well . . . that brings up the interesting question of what a “weed” really is.  This plant is native and has evolved over many thousands of years to share space with other natives.  But it isn’t particularly attractive, and can grown in great numbers (not on the Pass, however).  Probably the best definition of a weed is a plant that grows where people don’t want it to grow! 

Yellow lupine?

Thermopsis montana, June 4, 2020

Common & scientific name
Golden banner, Thermopsis montana

Family
Pea, Fabaceae

Location
Weller curve, 9,300’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Looks like a lupine, but it’s yellow, and that’s all you need to know to distinguish it!  Golden banner grows easily and in great quantities around our valley, but in only a few spots on the Pass.

What's new, pussytoe?

Antennaria pulcherrima, June 2, 2020

Common & scientific name
Showy pussytoes, Antennaria pulcherrima

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Difficult Trail, 8,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This species of pussytoe, which has a taller stem and larger head than our other local species, doesn’t look much like a sunflower because it only has disk flowers (the flowers that usually make up the button of a sunflower), and no ray flowers (the “petals”). 

An autumn superstar

Sorbus scopulina, June 2, 2020

S. scopulina, June 16, 2020

Common & scientific name
Mountain ash, Sorbus scopulina

Family
Rose, Rosaceae

Location
Difficult Trail, 8,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This small tree is more likely to capture your attention later in the summer, when it produces bright reddish-orange berries, and then again in the fall when its leaves turn lovely, soft shades of red, yellow, and orange.

Visualize whirled peas . . .

Lathyrus lanszwertii, June 2, 2020

Common & scientific name
Lanszwert’s pea, Lathyrus lanszwertii

Family
Pea, Fabaceae

Location
Difficult Trail, 8,000’

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