These red berries won't kill you

Ribes montigenum, June 23, 2021

R. montigenum in fruit, Little Willis Gulch, 11,000’, September 18, 2021

Common & scientific name
Mountain gooseberry, Ribes montigenum

Family
Gooseberry, Grossulariaceae

Location
N.E. of summit, 12,000’

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!

Common and little

Heuchera parviflora var. nivalis, June 23, 2021

Common & scientific name
Littleleaf or Common alumroot, Heuchera parvifolia var. nivalis

Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae 

Location
N.E. of summitl, 12,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Delicate, wonderful, if somewhat nondescript plant of the alpine.  Further words escape me!

Elderberry wine, anyone?

Sambucus racemosa, June 23, 2021

Common & scientific name
Red elderberry, Sambucus racemosa

Family
Honeysuckle, Caprifoliaceae

Location
Roadside, 10,600’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

The berries of its eastern cousin are used to make wine and for myriad medicinal purposes.  Our berries are safe to eat only after being cooked, and are only marginally palatable.  Leave them for the wildlife!

In the cross-hairs

Wyethia x. magna, June 23, 2021

Common & scientific name
Mules ears, Wyethia amplexicaulis x. arizonica, aka Wyethia x. magna

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Difficult Trail, 8,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

Our local Mules ears are unusual in that their leaves have a rough-hairy texture, while most W. amplexicaulis plants are smooth and hair-free.  William Weber, the foremost authority on Colorado wildflowers, says ours is “a stable hybrid population stemming from a time when the Pleistocene climate compressed the range, bringing this species into close contact with W. arizonica.”

What's new, pussytoe?

Antennaria pulcherrima, June 23, 2021

Common & scientific name
Showy pussytoes, Antennaria pulcherrima

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Northeast of summit, 12,000’

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”). 

Yet another Senecio

Senecio wootonii, June 24, 2021

Common & scientific name
Wooton’s ragwort, Senecio wootonii

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Green Mountain, 11,000’

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!

One in a million (or at least 30,000)

Platanthera dilatata, June 23, 2021

P. dilatata, Mountain Boy, 11,600’, July 8, 2021

Common & scientific name
White bog orchid, Platanthera dilatata

Family
Orchid, Orchidaceae

Location
Roadside, 10,000’

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.

Here, kitty, kitty

Antennaria rosea, June 23, 2021

Common & scientific name
Rosy pussytoes, Antennaria rosea

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Roadside, 10,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Called “pussytoes” because of their tightly packed flower head’s resemblance to the underside of a cat’s paw, Rosy pussytoes is our loveliest species owing to its bright rosy heads.  Each colony of pussytoes is a clone with all the plants connected to one another by underground rhizomes, and their evergreen leaf mats cover the ground throughout the four seasons.

Boggling Boecheras

Boechera fendleri, June 22, 2021

Common & scientific name
Fendler’s rockcress, Boechera fendleri

Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae

Location
Roadside, 9,200’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
As I’ve stated before, the Boechera genus is notoriously difficult to narrow down to species. This rockcress commonly seen on the lower part of the Pass can be identified by its tall stature (60cm), long, drooping, double-seeded siliques, and the hairs on the lowest part of its stem and basal leaves.