Monkshood (Aconitum columbianum) Ranunculaceae family
Bridges’ Gilia or Pincushion (Navarretia leptalea), Polemoniaceae (Phlox) family
Bishop’s Cap (Mitella breweri), Saxifragaceae family
Bishop’s Cap (Mitella breweri), Saxifragaceae family
Baneberry (Actaea rubra), Ranunculaceae family
Baneberry (Actaea rubra), Ranunculaceae family
Sierrra or Wide Leaved Parish’s Yampah (Perideridia parishii ssp. latifolia), Apiaceae family. Yampah is a Shosone word, and roots and seeds were, and likely are still, eaten by various Native American peoples.
Sierrra or Wide Leaved Parish’s Yampah (Perideridia parishii ssp. latifolia), Apiaceae family, foliage at center
Sierra Lewisia or Nevada Bitter Root (Lewisia nevadensis), Montiaceae (Portulacaceae)
Sierra Lewisia or Nevada Bitter Root (Lewisia nevadensis), Montiaceae (Portulacaceae)
Sierra Lewisia or Nevada Bitter Root (Lewisia nevadensis), Montiaceae (Portulacaceae)
Sierra Star Tulip (Calochortus minimus) Lilliaceae
Wandering Daisy or Subalpine Fleabane (Erigeron glacialis var. glacialis), Asteraceae family. The poetic name sounds somewhat contradictory, but for me it conjurs zoomed out images of their advances and retreats across the landscape, as the glaciers ebb and flow across the eons.
Wandering Daisy or Subalpine Fleabane (Erigeron glacialis var. glacialis), Asteraceae family
Wandering Daisy or Subalpine Fleabane (Erigeron glacialis var. glacialis), Asteraceae family, foliage
The Beaver had a dam a few feet tall here, which got blowed out in our record winter this year, and now I see what the foundation was. The log survived the flooding intact, but three years later, they still haven’t rebuilt the dam, which has affected the habitat here, including the elimination of our swimming spots.
Common Bladderwort (Utricularia macrorhiza), Lentibulariaceae family
Common Bladderwort (Utricularia macrorhiza), in the Lentibulariaceae family, is not merely common. It’s aquatic foliage, has little bladders on it, visible here, which draw in water, filter out micro crustaceans etc., then digest and expel them. How’d they figure that trick out? Mutation and selection through deep time are an incredibly powerful mechanism, with occasionally flabbergasting results. And here we are
Waterleaf (or Ballhead, Branching or Timberline) Phacelia (Phacelia hydrophylloides), Hydrophyllaceae family
Velvety Stickseed (Hackelia velutina), Boraginaceae family. Stick, in this instance, being a verb. They are also known as Forget-me-nots, and if you forget to keep an eye out and go around them when they’re going to seed, they will remind you, by affixing themselves to your socks and pants with sharp burs that can really prickle, especially during removal, preferably not at your picnic spot or anywhere else you would rather they aren’t growing. We do well to be mindful vectors.
Woolly Mule’s Ear (Wyethia mollis), Asteraceae family
Woolly Mule’s Ear (Wyethia mollis), Asteraceae family
Woolly Mule’s Ear (Wyethia mollis), Asteraceae family
Woolly Mule’s Ear (Wyethia mollis), Asteraceae family
Brewer’s Angelica (Angelica breweri), Apiaceae family
Brewer’s Angelica (Angelica breweri), Apiaceae family