Mind the sheep

Oxytropis sericea, June 28, 2020

Common & scientific name
White locoweed, Oxytropis sericea

Family
Pea, Fabaceae

Location
Twin Lakes, 9,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Locoweed gets its name from the numerous problems it has caused in domestic livestock.  Locoweeds contain an alkaloid that disrupts cellular function in these animals.  According to Montana Plant Life, “locoism causes depression, incoordination, and nervousness under stress. Death can result. The cellular problems occur most readily in tissues of the nervous system. Pregnant animals often abort or give birth to young with congenital deformities. Congestive right heart disease occurs at high altitudes.”

Help found!

Hymenoxis richardsonii, June 28, 2020

Common & scientific name
Richardson’s bitterweed, Hymenoxis richardsonii

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
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.

East sider only

Geranium caespitosum, June 28, 2020

Common & scientific name
Purple geranium, Geranium caespitosum

Family
Geranium, Geraniaceae

Location
Twin Lakes, 9,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This species of geranium I have only seen on the east side of the Pass.  It sprawls closer to the ground than our other two, more common species (G. richardsonii and G. viscossissimum), and the lobes of its leaves are more rounded.  Please let me know if you’ve seen this on the west side!

Proud to be called a shrub

Dasiphora fruticosa, June 28, 2020

Common & scientific name
Shrubby cinquefoil, Dasiphora fruticosa

Family
Rose, Rosaceae

Location
Twin Lakes, 9,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This plant has gone through more than a half-dozen name changes since Carl Linnaeus first stamped the binomial system onto it in the mid-1700s, beginning with “Potentilla fruticosa.”  Its flowers are very potentilla (or cinquefoil)-like, but not its essential shrub nature (a “shrub” being defined as a woody plant which is smaller than a tree and has persistent woody stems above the ground, unlike herbaceous plants).  It can be seen almost everywhere on the Pass.

See me!

Primula angustifolia, June 27, 2020

Common & scientific name
Alpine primrose, Primula angustifolia

Family
Primrose, Primulaceae

Location
North Fork Lake Creek & Fryingpan Lakes saddle, 12,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Found only in Colorado and norther New Mexico, this diminutive version of its much taller cousin, the water-loving Parry’s primrose, is found on dry subalpine and alpine ridges, often in the protection of rocks.  Its neon-magenta flowers, largely identical to those of Parry’s, light up the tundra under our feet.

Purple jewel of the alpine

Besseya alpina, June 27, 2020

Common & scientific name
Alpine besseya, Besseya alpina

Family
Snapdragon, Scrophularaceae

Location
North Fork Lake Creek & Fryingpan Lakes saddle, 12,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This gem of an alpine flower is found only in the high mountains of the Four Corners states, and most abundantly in Colorado. A swift glance might mistake it for Silky phacelia, Phacelia sericea, but its leaves are dark green and thick, not feathery, and it lacks the gold-tipped anthers of Silky phacelia.  Standing just several inches tall, often nestled within rock gardens, Alpine besseya is always a worthy find!

The abundance

Mertensia ciliata, June 27, 2020

Common & scientific name
Mountain bluebells, Mertenisa lanceolata

Family
Borage, Boraginaceae

Location
North Fork Lake Creek, 10,900’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Mountain bluebells grace wet areas with their delicate pink-to-blue flowers, bluish-green leaves, and sheer abundance.  Standing several feet high, they are often found in the company of subalpine larkspur and monkshood. 

Another daisy for your delight

Erigeron pinnatisectus, June 27, 2020

Common & scientific name
Cutleaf daisy, Erigeron pinnatisectus

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Fryingpan Lakes & North Fork Lake Creek saddle, 12,300’

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. 

I am NOT a parasite

Pedicularis parryi, June 27, 2020

Common & scientific name
Parry’s lousewort, Pedicularis parryi

Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location
Fryingpan Lakes & North Fork Lake Creek saddle, 12,400’

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.

Things are looking rosy

Castilleja rhexifolia, June 27, 2020

Common & scientific name
Rosy paintbrush, Castilleja rhexifolia

Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location
North Fork Lake Creek, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Whether “rosy” or bright magenta or soft lavender or striped with white or some combination of all of the above, Rosy paintbrush is by all accords one of our most stunning flowers.  Hybridization with other species, like the whitish-yellow C. occidentalis, is thought to be responsible for the variation. As with all members of the Castilleja genus, the colorful parts are actually modified leaves, or “bracts.”  Its flowers are small, tubular, greenish-yellow, and barely visible within its colorful bracts. Enjoy this summertime treat!

C. rhexifolia, June 27, 2020