2020 Wildflower Checklist
Securigera varia, June 23, 2020
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!
Draba streptocarpa, June 23, 2020
Common & scientific name
Twisted-fruit draba, Draba streptocarpa
Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae
Location
Summit, 12,100
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This Draba, one of many alpine mustards found on the Pass, will develop a diagnostic twisted silique (seed pod)—“streptocarpa” means “twisted-fruit”—which will aid in identification. Get ready for more difficult drabas!
Geranium richardsonii, June 23, 2020
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.
Kalmia microphylla, June 19, 2020
K. microphylla, 6.26.20
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.
Lloydia serotina, June 19, 2020
Common & scientific name
Alp lily, Lloydia serotina
Family
Lily, Liliaceae
Location
Linkins Lake, 12,000
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A dainty lily with purple pencil markings on its white petals, grass-like leaves, and standing just 4 or 5” high, easily overlooked hiding among rocks or other alpine flowers and grasses. Worth seeking out!
Trifolium pratense, June 18, 2020
Common & scientific name
Red Clover, Trifolium pratense
Family
Pea, Fabaceae
Location
Above winter gate, 8,600
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.
Achillea millefolium, June 18, 2020
Common & scientific name
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Below winter gate, 8,400
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Yarrow is a circumboreal species (distributed throughout the Northern hemisphere, including Europe and Asia). In North America, it is found from the coast, or zero feet in elevation, to the alpine. The genus Achillea was named after Achilles, who used plant extracts to treat soldiers’ wounds in the battle of Troy, a nod to Yarrow’s many medicinal uses. “Millefolium” means “a thousand leaves” in Latin, referring to its feathery, fern-like leaves.
And once again, and you’ll probably get tired of reading this, but it feels awfully early to be seeing this on the Pass in mid-June . . . .
