Pledge allegiance

Aquilegia coerulea, June 27, 2022

A. coerulea, Top Cut 12,100’ July 14, 2022

Seed pod, Portal campground area, 10,600’, July 29, 2022

Common & scientific name
Colorado columbine, Aquilegia coerulea

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Ghost town, 10,800’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Our beloved state flower, equally at home in aspen groves and on rocky tundra, manifesting all kinds of color combinations, hybridizing with all other species of Aquilegia, occasionally with spurless variants: how lucky we are to call this endlessly interesting flower our own!

A. coerulea, Top Cut, 12,100’, July 14, 2022

A. coerulea, above Linkins Lake, 12,800’, August 5, 2022

Seems a little early, but . . .

Achillea millefolium, June 27, 2022

Common & scientific name
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Roadside, 8,800’

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/late-June . . . .

Oy, vetch!

Securigera varia, June 27, 2022

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!

What a clown

Mimulus guttatus, June 27, 2022

M. guttatus, Ptarmigan Creek area, 11,000’, August 8, 2022

Common & scientific name
Yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus

Family
Lopseed, Phrymaceae

Location
Roadside, 9,000’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This cheery yellow wildflower can be found along streams, seeps, or ditches from the montane to the alpine. “Mimulus” comes from “mimus,” meaning “buffoon," for the clownish appearance of its flower. This flower is another Snapdragon castaway, into an entirely new family, the “Lopseeds” (per Ackerman), which is a first to me.

Close-up of left

Short life but many offspring

Trifolium repens, June 21, 2022

Common & scientific name
White clover, Trifolium repens

Family
Pea, Fabaceae

Location
Roadside, 8,700

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

White clover is one of the most widely cultivated clovers for pastures and agricultural purposes in the world.  It is not as hardy as Red clover, though: after only 1–2 years, the original plant dies. It IS, however, a prolific seed producer, so stands of white clover may persist almost indefinitely.

Things are looking rosy

Castilleja rhexifolia, June 21, 2022

C. rhexifolia, Lower Lost Man, 10,900’, July 4, 2022

C. rhexifolia, Lower Lost Man, 10,900’, July 4, 2022

Common & scientific name
Rosy paintbrush, Castilleja rhexifolia

Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae

Location
Upper Lost Man, 12,200’

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 (see below). 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 hybrid, New York Trail, 11,200’, June 28, 2022

Another pygmy

Ranunculus pygmaeus, June 21, 2022

Common & scientific name
Pygmy buttercup, Ranunculus pygmaeus

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Upper Lost Man area, 12,500’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Standing just a few inches tall, usually tucked up against a wet rock or cliff area for protection, this tiny buttercup is always a treat to find!  Its palmate, wider-than-tall leaves, with a single middle lobe and double side lobes, are diagnostic, as are its small size and elevation range (alpine).

Don't take umber-age

Antennaria umbrinella, June 21, 2022

A. umbrinella, roadside 11,700’, July 1, 2022

Common & scientific name
Umber pussytoes, Antennaria umbrinella

Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae

Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,800’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This species of pussytoes has brownish coloring at the base of its “paws,” that is, on the lower portion of its phyllaries. A. rosea has phyllaries that are distinctly red, A. media black, A. corymbosa a dark spot, and A. parviflora white or pinkish. Get out the loop and good luck!

Bedding down for the summer

Paronychia pulvinata, June 21, 2022

P. pulvinata going to seed, above Linkins Lake, 12,300’, August 23, 2022

Common & scientific name
Alpine nailwort, Paronychia pulvinata

Family
Pink, Caryophyllaceae

Location
Above Linkins Lake, 12,300’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Inconspicuous yellow-green flowers embedded in tight, sometimes large mats, often growing directly on the crumbling granite of our high peaks.  This low-lying, wonderfully subtle flower knows how to make the best of things amidst the hard, desiccating winds of the high alpine!