Draba lonchocarpa, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Lancepod draba, Draba lonchocarpa
Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae
Location
Geissler, 13,200’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A most delicate alpine draba with white flowers, standing standing an inch or two high, densely pubescent leaves, glabrous, and dark-purple stalks with no leaves. This is as fine a find in the alpine as any!
Taraxacum scopulorum, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Dwarf alpine dandelion, Taraxacum scopulorum
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Geissler, 13,100’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Standing only a couple inches tall and with a small head and blackish bracts that don’t bend down and outward, this native subalpine to alpine dandelion can be distinguished from its lawn-loving (and everywhere-loving) cousin by these traits.
Potentilla subjuga, July 7, 2022
Front side of leaf
Common & scientific names
Colorado cinquefoil, Potentilla subjuga
Family
Rose, Rosaceae
Location
Above Linkins Lake, 12,300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known facts
Distinguishable from other potentillas by its 3-5 upper leaflets extending out from one point with 1-2 pairs of leaflets lower down on the petiole (the leaf stem), backside fuzzier (see photos below), usually above treeline.
Back side of leaf
Tonestus lyallii, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Lyall’s goldenweed, Tonestus lyallii
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Below Geissler, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Distinguishable from its close cousin, T. pygmaeus, by the gland tipped, pinhead hairs on its leaves. Named after the early-19th century Scottish explorer, David Lyall.
Oxyria digyna, July 7, 2022
O. digyna, Top Cut 12,100’ July 14, 2022
Common & scientific name
Mountain sorrel, Oxyria digyna
Family
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae
Location
Geissler, 13,100’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Heart-shaped leaves and red and green flowers then seeds make this charming alpine plant unmistakeable. The leaves are edible and have been enjoyed by humans and wildlife alike for millennia.
O. digyna, in fruit, above Linkins Lake, 12,800’, August 5, 2022
Erigeron vagus, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Rambling daisy, Erigeron vagus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Geissler, 13,200’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This tiny talus-lover standing just a couple inches high has a single, relatively large flowering head above wonderful three-toed leaves covered with glandular hairs, giving it a soft, gray appearance. It is named for the long, elastic caudices (underground root stems) that can shift with moving talus.
Erigeron grandiflorus, July 7, 2022
Common & scientific name
Rocky Mountain alpine fleabane, Erigeron grandiflorus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Above Linkins Lake, 12,300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This large-headed but small-statured daisy is found throughout our subalpine and alpine meadows. Its ray florets (the parts that look like petals) can number over 100. Its phyllaries (the small leaf-like parts enfolding its ray flowers) are covered in shaggy white and/or purple hairs. It can be distinguished from Erigeron simplex by its vastly hairier leaves, stem, and phyllaries, and I think its always deep-purple ray flowers. Some botanists lump the two, others don’t. I feel they are readily distinguishable, with E. simplex being much more common in our area.
Arenaria congesta, July 7, 2022
A. congesta close-up, Linkins Lake Trail 11,700’, July 19, 2022
Common & scientific name
Ballhead sandwort, Arenaria congesta
Family
Pink, Caryophyllaceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Ballhead sandwort (poorly named, it seems to me, in light of its hardly “ball-like” clusters of flowers—usually only a few) lines the trails in dry, rocky, sandy soils. Its spindly appearance makes it easy to overlook, but a close-up viewing of its intricate, lovely flowers, like many in the Pink family, will inspire new appreciation!
Erigeron peregrinus, July 7, 2022
Phyallaries
Common & scientific name
Subalpine daisy, Erigeron peregrinus
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lost Man Trail, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
I prefer “daisy” over the more commonly used “fleabane” for this lovely flower—it deserves better! (“Fleabane” apparently referred to the Erigeron genus’s ability to drive away fleas or other insects when burned—which would probably hold true for many things.) This Erigeron can be distinguished from the many lavender/purple erigerons to come this summer by its wider florets and red-tipped phyllaries that curl backward (photo below).