The nerves!

Helianthella quinquenervis, July 2, 2021

H. quinquenervis, Grizzly Lake Trail, 11,000’, July 22, 2021

Common & scientific name
Five-nerved sunflower, Helianthella quinquenervis

Family
Aster, Asteraceae

Location
South Fork Lake Creek, 10,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
.If you’ve hiked to Crested Butte over West Maroon Pass before, you know this flower. Standing up to four feet tall with five (usually) prominent veins on the leaves, this is an unmistakeable sunflower that is seen in only a few places, here and there, on the Pass.

H. quinquenervis, phyllaries, July 22, 2021

Valerian #2

Valerian acutiloba, July 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Sharpleaf valerian, Valerian acutiloba

Family
Valerian, Valerianaceae

Location
South Fork Lake Creek, 10,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Valerian is famous in part for its roots, which when cooked are appealing in the way that tobacco is (it is also commonly known as “Tobacco root”): that is, very appealing to some, almost nauseating to others. It’s really just as fun to look at. Sharpleaf valerian is a smallish plant with soft-pink flowers that can be found into the alpine. It is less common in our area than its taller, smellier cousin, V. edulis. 

Genus vs. Genus

Packera dimorphophylla, July 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Two-leaved groundsel or ragwort, Packera dimorphophylla

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Sayres Gulch, 11,400

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A number of yellow sunflowers previously included within the Senecio genus were moved three decades ago into the Packera genus.  P. dimorphophylla has triangular-shaped, clasping/auricled stem leaves and can be distinguished from its close cousin, P. crocatus, by those clasping stem leaves and yellower (less orange) color.

Showiest in show

Oxytropis splendens, July 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Showy locoweed, Oxytropis splendens

Family
Pea, Fabaceae

Location
South Fork Lake Creek, 10,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Showy, indeed!  Covered in long, white hairs, the plant takes on a  silvery appearance, which contrasts with its numerous, richly colored flowers, ranging from dark purple to lavender, that sit atop tall, leafless stems that grow in large clusters.  

When I first encountered this flower, I thought it might be a cultivated Oxytrope that had been planted and escaped back in the Hotel Interlaken days, as I had NEVER seen a wildflower in our area quite as large and dramatic as this.  Alas, it IS a native, one you won’t see on the west side of the Pass, and worth a trip all by itself to the south side of Twin Lakes (you can also see it up South Fork Lake Creek meadows and alongside Highway 82!

The big fuzzy wuzzy

Agoseris glauca var. dasycephala, July 2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Pale agoseris,  Agoseris glauca var. dasycephala

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Sayres Gulch, 11,400

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!

Black hairs matter

Erigeron melanocephalus, back, July2, 2021

Common & scientific name
Blackhead daisy,  Erigeron melanocephalus

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Sayres Gulch, 11,400

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
There’s no mistaking this daisy: the black hairs on the underside of its flower, covering the phyllaries, make this an easy ID in the field.  Found in large numbers in the alpine, growing several inches tall with bright-white ray flowers.  Another well-named flower!

E. melanocephalus, front, July 2, 2021

Wood nymph-o-mania!

Moneses uniflora, July 6, 2021

Common & scientific name
Wood nymph, Moneses uniflora 

Family
Heath, Ericaceae

Location
Braille trail, 10,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Standing just a few inches off the ground, this perennial favorite’s single, nodding flower hides a clever stigma that can take pollen off the back of a visiting bumblebee after the bee has shaken pollen off the flower’s anthers. Look for this shy beauty in moist spruce-fir woods.

Hostess with the worstest?

Pedicularis racemosa, July 6, 2021

Common & scientific name
Sickletop lousewort, Pedicularis racemosa 

Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location
Braille Traill, 10,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Look for this wonderfully-shaped wildflower en masse under spruce and fir trees in the subalpine zone. From the US Forest Service’s wonderful “Plant of the Week” post:  

“Traditionally, Pedicularis has been included in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). Louseworts have green leaves and produce their own food through photosynthesis but also have roots capable of capturing nutrients and water from adjacent plants, making them partially parasitic. Recent genetic studies have shown that Pedicularis and other hemiparasitic genera in the Scrophulariaceae (including the Indian paintbrushes, Castilleja) are better placed in the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae), with species that are true parasites that lack green chlorophyll.

Another recent discovery implicates Leafy [Sickletop] lousewort as an alternate host for White pine blister rust. An introduced fungus called Cronartium ribicola causes this infectious disease of five-needled pines [including Limber and Bristlecone pines]. . . . It remains unknown whether Leafy [Sickletop] lousewort has served as an alternate host for blister rust for decades, or if this relationship has evolved only recently.”

Wormskjold, indeed!

Veronica wormskjoldii, July 6, 2021

Common & scientific name
Alpine speedwell, Veronica wormskjoldii

Family
Plantain, Plantaginaceae

Location
Braille trail, 10,400’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Common, variably-sized, delightful subalpine and alpine plant that frequently grows trailside near streams or wetlands.  Named after Danish botanist, Morton Wormskjold.  Hopefully he didn’t discover too many other plants.

V. wormskjoldii, Roaring Fork River, 10,700’, July 7, 2021

Ranunculus redux

Ranunculus alismifolius, July 4, 2021

Common & scientific name
Plantainleaf buttercup, Ranunculus alismifolius

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Jack Creek basin, 12,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This buttercup is—can I say it?—fairly non-descript, with long, skinny, hairless leaves and stems and small yellow flowers.  It grows primarily in wet meadows and on the edges of ponds and streams.