Spiranthes romanzoffiana, August 6, 2022
Same
Common & scientific name
Hooded ladies-tresses, Spiranthes romanzoffiana
Family
Orchid, Orchidaceae
Location
Midway area, 11,400’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
We don’t see this one very often on the Pass, so it is an exciting find. Its braid-like design of white flowers ascending in a geometric spiral distinguishes it from other orchids like white bog orchid. It grows in wet, often sheltered or shady places, and is a singular delight!
Gentiana algida, August 6, 2022
Same
Common & scientific name
Arctic gentian, Gentiana algida
Family
Gentian, Gentianaceae
Location
Above Jack Lake, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
One of our loveliest and latest-blooming alpine flowers. Its delicate, whitish, almost see-through petals are decorated with purple or green lines and tiny spots. Its thick rosette of long, green leaves comes out a month or more before the flower. It can be found on dry alpine ground where only a few hearty flowers remain. See this jewel of a gentian and kiss summer on the tundra goodbye!
Valley below Top Cut, 11,400’, August 9, 2022
Packera dimorphophylla, August 5, 2022
Common & scientific name
Two-leaved groundsel or ragwort, Packera dimorphophylla
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Wet Gulch, 11,600’
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.
Swertia perennis, August 5, 2022
Same
Common & scientific name
Star gentian, Swertia perennis
Family
Gentian, Gentianaceae
Location
Wet Gulch, 11,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
After the oh-so-different green gentian, which grows 3-6’ tall and blooms midsummer, this is often the first purple gentian to bloom (I’m late posting this photo—it’s been out for awhile), and marks the beginning of the end of wildflower season. Always found in wet meadows, star gentian, with its soft-purple coloring and pointed petals, can be found as a singular treat or in the company of dozens. It is a poignant reminder of the nearing end of summer—enjoy it fully!
Antennaria media, August 5, 2022
Common & scientific name
Rocky Mountain pussytoes, Antennaria media
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Grizzly Ridge, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This species of pussytoes has black or blackish-green, phyllaries, is usually found above treeline, and is quite small, like this 3” specimen.
Heterotheca pumila, August 5, 2022
H. pumila seed heads, Linkins Lake Trail, 11,750’, August 28, 2022
Common & scientific name
Alpine goldenaster, Heterotheca pumila
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside, 11,400’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
While all guide books describe this and its close cousin Heterotheca villosa as “highly variable” (in size, leaf shape, hairiness, etc.), it is easily identifiable by its strongly pungent smell, location (subalpine to alpine, in dry, exposed places like trailside or roadside), and its numerous yellow flowers atop a roundish mound of grayish-green leaves.
Leucanthemum vulgare, August 5, 2022
L. vulgare, roadside 10,400’, August 15, 2022
Common & scientific name
Oxeye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside everywhere up to 11,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
YES, they’re pretty, YES, they’re cheery, YES, you may stop, look, and enjoy them. Then do your part for our native wildflowers and pull them! Oxeyes are a highly invasive perennial that LOVE disturbed places like roadsides—even a fresh layer of asphalt won’t dissuade them! A single plant can produce up to 200 seeds per flowering head, sitting atop up to 40 flowering stems per plant—that leads to a ginormous seed bank. Leucanthemum vulgare is native to Europe and was introduced into the United States as an ornamental in the 1800s. In the 2000s, it is the bane of Independence Pass.
L. vulgare leaves, Weller, 9,400’, August 15, 2022
Symphyotrichum ascendens, August 5, 2022
Same
Common & scientific name
Western aster, Symphyotrichum ascendens
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Roadside, 8,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Another common roadside aster, it grows tall and in abundance in late summer. It can be distinguished from purple daisies, Erigerons, by its wider ray florets (petals), and from other purple asters by its several rows of overlapping, shingle-like, dark-green phyllaries that curl outward. Owing to its hairiness and stiffness, it has a bit of a coarse look and feel.