The Valley is full of flowers in June.  So many so that here we present them by type—here are the shrubs, which come into their own when in full flower.  Separately, we will post Wildflowers in Sageflats and Hills/Sun and Wildflowers in Forests/shade.

Most shrubs are most appreciated in spring when they bloom, although some will have colorful foliage and fruits for a short time in fall.  The rest of the year, shrubs are usually overlooked as just green bushes or just twigs.  So now is the time to celebrate shrubs.

Note: Shrubs are woody plants usually between 6”-20’ tall with multiple stems vs. 1 or 2 trunks of a tree.

The following are more or less in flower sequence within their group.

First to Start:

Willows – Salix sp. –  There are many, many types of willows of all sizes. They are very important for wildlife: pollinating bees, nesting birds, browsing moose, and dam-building beaver to name a few.

We usually welcome their early spring catkins—pussy willows.  They come in male and female versions, are pollinated by insects (not by wind, as previously thought) starting in April.  By late June the female capsules are bursting with thousands of seeds attached to a tufts of fluff being dispersed by wind.  Along with their relatives the cottonwoods, they are creating blizzards.

The teensie seeds are viable for only a few days, and they must land on moist open ground to germinate. Only a couple of seeds out of a million will sprout and grow up at all. Plants, though, can propagate vegetatively from broken stems stuck in the mud, as along flooded rivers or around beaver ponds.

Utah Honeysuckle – Lonicera utahensis – has oval leaves that are arranged opposite each other on the stems.  The trumpet-like, pale yellow flowers are found in pairs, their ovaries attached at the very base.  Later twin red berries will loll upon the green of the leaves…but not until late July.

Oregon Grape – Mahonia repens – is one of our few evergreen shrubs and is particularly tough.  It grows in sun or shade, often on very rocky soils.  Several thick holly-like leaflets form along the central petiole to comprise a compound leaf. In spring the “evergreen” leaves remain, although a bit tattered, until the new leaves replace them.  The flowers are remarkably fragrant and last a long time.  The underlying bark is yellow with “berberine” which has medicinal properties.

Mountain Maple  – Acer glabrum – has inconspicuous flowers that are pollinated by wind or perhaps some insects?  Each flower is usually male or female to prevent self-pollination.  By now in late June you can see the beginning of the fruits forming – the double winged samaras – that will twirl to new realms later in the fall.

The leaves are 3-5 lobed, with some saw-like teeth along the edges.  Often I see the leaves mottled with a deep red “fungus”.  The velvet red splotches are actually formed by tiny galls created by mites:  https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/velvet_galls_caused_by_tiny_eriophyid_mites

A June Parade of White Blooms in the Rose Family:

These common shrubs grow from a few feet to up to almost 20’ tall.  They all have five green sepals, five white petals, and anthers (the pollen bearing parts) in multiples of 5. These three whorls merge into a cup-like hypanthium that will later swell and protect the seeds. Hypanthium structures are common in the Rose Family. In the very center of this cup-like feature, sit the female ovaries and eggs that will form the seeds.  The fruits will be a combination of swollen protective hypanthiums and the mature seeds in the center. (image wikipedia)

All these plants are related to cultivated fruits we eat: apples, plums, pears, peaches—also in the Rose Family.  Our native roses blooms in July–very soon! and produce “hips” – the tough hypanthium with dry fruits/seeds inside.

More or less in order of bloom:

Serviceberry/Saskatoon – Amelanchier alnifolia – has oval 1-1.5” leaves with a few teeth arrayed around the upper ½.  Flowers are arranged along a central stalk.  Being one of the earliest to bloom, it will also be the earliest to fruit.

Chokecherry – Prunus virginiana – has 4-5” oblong, pointed leaves with fine teeth all along the edges.  The dozens of flowers are stiffly arranged on the long central stalk.  All the parts of the plant have a chemicals that can produce poisonous cyanide under certain conditions.  For instance, if cattle eat too many of the spring leaves they can become very sick.  Amateur entomologists have used the leaves and bark in jars to kill insect specimens.  On the other hand, western tent caterpillars thrive in their branches, and birds and other mammals will eat the fruits come fall (the particularly toxic pits pass on through).

Black Hawthorn – Crataegus douglasii – are easy to ID with their ½-1” thorns.  The broad oval leaves are coarsely toothed.  The flowers are in branching bunches or cymes.  In August, the Moose-Wilson Road is often closed due to bears feasting on the berries.

Mountain Ash/Greene’s Ash – Sorbus scoparia – begins to bloom in late June in slightly cooler locations.  The leaves are “compound” with many leaflets coming off a central stalk.  The stalk then attaches to the twig.  The tiny flowers form a great puff of creamy white flowers at the end of the stems.

Ninebark – Physocarpus malvaceus – is found in the southern part of Jackson Hole flowering at the end of June. Unlike other white bloomers above, it will have dry fruits.  Leaves are slightly lobed and toothed.

Yellow Members of the Rose Family Join In the Parade of Bloom:

Not all members of the very large Rose Family make luscious fruits.  While also having hypanthiums, the cups remain thin and brown cradling dry seed-like fruits (achenes) inside. For now enjoy the flowers.

Antelopebrush/Bitterbrush – Purshia tridentata – is especially abundant this year.  You can smell the sweet yellow flowers before you come over the rise of an open hillside.  Plants are often intermixed with sagebrush, growing about the same size.

The nutritious plants are valued wildlife browse throughout the year, but particularly in late fall and winter by moose.  Ants and mice relish the seeds.  Also these plants can fix their own nitrogen with the help of bacteria growing in the roots.  Therefore, these shrubs can grow in many tough conditions.  Note their small leaves are three-tipped like those of sagebrush, but they are greener overall, and the edges curl under.

Shrubby Cinquefoil –  Potentilla/Diasphora fucticosa/Pentaplylloides floribunda – is a favored landscape plant for its yellow flowers in early to mid-summer and its low maintenance.  It can grow in a variety of soils from sun to shade – but prefers a bit of moisture, especially when in sun.

Nurseries sell a range “cultivars” with white to deep orange flowers.  Our wild native is yellow.

More June Shrubs of Various Sorts –

These four shrubs prefer more or less moist and/or cool areas and grow into substantial plants.

Silverberry – Eleagnus commutata – has been flowering under the cottonwoods along the Snake and Gros Ventre Rivers from Wilson north. They are easily seen from the dikes and from Fall Creek Road.

The 2-3” silvery oblong leaves stand out in the shade on 6’-tall, erect colonial plants.  Hidden in the foliage are yellowish, highly fragrant tubular flowers.

Red Elderberry – Sambucus racemosa – looks at first glance like Mountain Ash with its white bunches of small flowers and compound leaves.  However, it is overall heftier with thicker stems and heavier leaves, and notably the compound leaves are opposite each other, not alternate up the stems.   Also, plants have a foul odor if pinched or crushed.  Its European relative – Sambucus nigra – is the source of sambucol, the anti-viral flu mediation.

Twinberry – Lonicera involucrata – is also a substantial shrub usually found near water. The 3-6” oval leaves are opposite on the stem, and the flowers are formed in pairs. (It is a relative of the early flowering relative Utah honeysuckle – see above.) Flowers are mostly yellowish and hairy with a “bract” at their base that can be greenish yellow but later turns deep maroon.  Keep an eye out for caterpillars of Gillette’s Checkerspot butterfly (photo credit: Wikipedia) which require this species for their host.

Red-stemmed Dogwood – Cornus stolonifera – is loved by moose, other wildlife, and landscapers.  In fact it is an appealing “ornamental” plant for its tidy oval leaves set opposite each other on the red stems, bunches of white flowers,  and later white berries.  Red winter twigs are a cheerful contrast against snow. “Cultivars” have been selected with brighter red stems, variegated leaves, bigger flowers and berries.  The moose relish it as is, and the birds will carry off the fruits when ready. A great plant for a “wildlife friendly” garden.

Unnotables:

Junipers are evergreen conifers.  The tree-like Western Juniper –  Juniperus scopulorum – grows in all shapes and sizes on our dry buttes.

This species has scale-like leaves.

The sprawling Common Juniper – J. communis – has sharp needles that are in whorls of 3 and grows here and there in sunny spots.  Both produce “berries” which are technically fleshy cones that are relished by Townsend’s Solitaires and Cedar Waxwings.  However, few realize that the cones take 18 months to form, starting in June, and only on “female” plants.

Not to get into the complications of “naked seed” plants and their evolution, suffice it to say that pollen is released from tiny structures,

and with luck land on females cones of a different plant.  You need a microscope to really see what is going on, but with a handlens, you can observe the first bulge of reproduction.

Others shrubs not mentioned: The gooseberries/currants – Ribes sp., various huckleberry relatives – Vaccinium sp., and a few inconspicuous wind pollinated species.  We save those for later.

Enjoy the shrubs of spring…more to come this summer!

Frances Clark, Program Coordinator

Wilson, WY

June 26, 2020

As the valley greens up and we need a respite from the world of Covid-19, many of us are out and about looking for flowers.  As I write, some of our regular haunts in Grand Teton National Park are still closed (but about to open!).  However, there are many other places for botanical forays.

Bridger-Teton National Forest has various accessible habitats such as more south-facing grassy slopes mixed with sagebrush and dry rocky slopes where the snow melts early.   Josie’s Ridge, Cache Creek, and the lower slopes of Munger Mountain are all good jaunts.  Dry hills to the north and east of Flat Creek Road; Crystal Butte near Jackson; Game Creek south of town; and Poison Creek southeast of Hoback are other accessible points.  Please always respect boundaries and watch your step—many of the plants are small and fragile.

Many common flowers are presented here.   Go to past posts of “What’s in Bloom?” for additional and different details.

Earliest flowers found to the south of Jackson a month ago are now fading but are still visible farther north: 

Turkey Peas – Orogenia linearifolia – have the tiniest of white flowers and skimpy linear leaves.  The cluster if often smaller than the size of a penny.

Two early look-alike buttercups perk up the dried grasses:  Sagebrush Buttercups – Ranunculus glaberrimus –  have simple leaves—although when they stretch out they can have two lobes. 

Utah Buttercups leaves are 3-lobed from first emergence.  

Steer’s-heads – Dicentra uniflora – are easily overlooked until you get the search image of the leaves…then look for the  flowers which have an obvious western motif. 

Slightly later or in different locations Spring Beauties – Claytonia lanceolata – are sprinkled about in light shade or sun where snow has just melted. Leaves are opposite, and the flowers are pinkish with delicate, pinker veins that lead pollinators to the center of the flower.

Ever-popular Yellowbells – Fritillaria pudica – grace hillsides and sageflats with their charming bells.

As we move into mid-May, species found on grassy slopes and amidst sage brush include:

Yellow violets – Viola nuttalii varieties – have a range of leaf shapes and sizes which confuse exact identification to variety.    Goosefoot Violet – Viola purpurea – is easy to ID because of its distinctive webbed-foot leaves.

Oblongleaf Bluebell – Mertensia obtusifolia – flowers dangle, changing color from pink to blue when ready to attract pollinators.

Shooting Star – Dodocatheon conjugens – folds back its petals and has little knobs for bees to cling to—it is “buzz” pollinated. A bee lands, hangs, vibrates its wing muscles and  then pollen grains sift out of the purple anthers and land on the bee’s belly.  The bee flies to another flower with a stigma sticking out which then tags the pollen.

Nuttall Larkspur – Delphinium nuttallianum – will soon become more abundant and attract hummingbirds.

Dry slopes are some of my favorite spring botany spots:

Wonderfully fragrant Hood’s Phlox – Phlox hoodii – has tight needle-like leaves with cobwebby hairs that help distinguish it from the later blooming Multiflora Phlox.  Flowers can range from light to dark blue on different plants of the same species.

Low pussytoes – Antennaria dimoprha – are often overlooked even when in flower – its tiny composite flowers are all male or female on separate plants.  Flowers are wind pollinated or females can produce seeds without a male around.

Pursh’s milkvetch – Astragalus purshii – has typical pea-like flowers emerging beyond a clump of compound ladder-like silvery leaves.  The flowers are creamy white. The genus of the Pea Family can be IDed, in part, by the two “wing” petals being longer than the “keel”, which here is purple tipped.

Bessey’s Locoweed – Oxytropus besseyi – has elegant fists of flowers above similar leaves to milkvetch.  The pea-like are very similar (except for its color!); however, the “wing” petals are shorter than the pointy “keel” in this genus of the Pea Family.

Whitlow Grasses – Draba sp.- were abundant on a very dry slope.  ID of this confusing genus of mustards requires the fruits to ripen.  Hairs also help!

Mountain Rockcress – Boechera sp. – is another Mustard Family member awaiting full ID.  All mustards have 4 sepals, 4 petals, 6 stamens – 2 shorter than the other 4, and a single pistil.  The pistils of the family grow into fruits of various shapes—the key ID feature needed. (photo by Susan Marsh)

Desert Paintbrush – Castilleja chromosa – is the first of several paintbrushes that will bloom over the next several months.  Its orange-red, day-glow flowers decorate dry hillsides amidst colorful rocks.

Below are some of the plants, which for some reason, have been given less prominence in past posts—not sure why:

Pasqueflowers – Anemone patens – are an early spring favorite for obvious reasons!

Diamondleaf Saxifrage – Saxifraga rhomboidea – is often overlooked.  The basal rosette of rhomboid leaves gives rise to a single 2-9” stalk with a cluster of several white flowers. 

Oregon Grape – Mahonia repens – is common in many habitats, but we often forget to get down and sniff the wonderfully fragrant flowers!  But watch your nose on the spiny, tough evergreen leaves.

Wyoming Kittentails – Besseya wyomingensis – have no showy petals.  The color comes from the purple-blue stamens that unfold to yield white pollen.

Best to get out now to see these early spring flowers before you are distracted by so many more flowers to come, such as Balsamroot!Happy Spring.

Frances Clark, Teton Plants Program Coordinator

P.S. As always, we appreciate any corrections, suggestions, or other comments!

Wildflower seekers are hiking above 8,000’, even 9,000′, for colorful displays of flowers found earlier at lower elevations.   It is also time to search for unusual subalpine to alpine flowers above 9,500′ to 10,500′

Here are some recent sightings and identification tips, focusing on species specialized to grow in the very short summer season, instense sun, abrasive wind, and poor soils of high altitudes. Most of the photos were taken in the past week up on Rendezvous Mountain, but the species can be seen elsewhere.

The majority of the photos below were taken in the last 10 days around Rendezvous Mountain. The photos focus on identification tips. You are welcome to ignore the details and just enjoy their beauty. If you are a full flower nerd, know that the taxonomists do not always agree with the classification of some of the species shown…opinions among scientists often vary.

Starting from the top:

Woolly Goldenweed – Happlopappus suffruticosus – is cheerfully sprawling along the road down Rendezvous. These subshrubs have woody bases, alternate twisted leaves, and bright yellow flowers (photo above and below).

Eaton’s/Tweedy’s Thistle – Cirsium eatonii/tweedyi. – is a 2-4’ tall, native (good!) thistle which catches your attention:

Carefully, look into the dense cluster of flowers at the top of the plants: The bracts are interlaced by a web of glistening hairs. Bracts surround 2-3” pinkish flower heads. Pollinators are plentiful!

Leaves are 6-8” long, toothed to lobed, wavy, and spine-tipped. Notably, petioles run down the stem (decurrent). Tweedy’s thistle is deemed “unresolved” by the authoritative Flora of North America: it is not even considered a variety. However, the authors note that there is much post-glacial hybridization among formerly isolated populations of this complex genus.

Bright yellow Long-leaved Arnica – Arnica longifolia – grows in cheerful drifts.

The 1-1.5’ stems feature several pairs of elongate leaves, as well as many yellow heads surrounded by equal-length bracts. The plant is overall glandular hairy with a strong odor.

It is common as you continue down the mountain road and seen from the tram.

As you head down farther where snow piled high in the lee of mountain slope or in a bowl, plants are larger and more profuse. Here a few showy species seen on the way down to Cody Bowl:

Alpine sweetvetch – Hedysarum alpinum var. americanum – has many deep violet- red, pea-like flowers (its in the pea family) dangling from one side of the inflorescence (photos above and  below).

Bluish-green leaves are pinnately divided into oval leaflets. Careful measurements of flowers (9-15mm) distinguish it from the slightly larger flowered (17-22 mm) Western Sweetvetch (H. occidentale). (Not all taxonomists agree with this separation!)

The fruits of Sweetvetches are termed loments – segmented fruits each with one seed inside. I think of them as pods flatted by a steam roller. The flat segments break off and disperse upon the wind. Many are forming now (photo above).

White-coiled Lousewort – Pedicularis contorta – has distinctive “coiled” or beaked white flowers which have evolved to fit worker bumblebee pollinators (below). Note the stigma projecting from the coiled  beak formed by fused petals.  When a bee lands, the stigma fits between the bee’s head and body and picks up pollen which the bee could not reach from a visit to another lousewort flower.

The 1’ plants have divided, mostly basal leaves, which helps distinguish it from a similar, more lower-elevation species: Parrot’s Beak – P. racemosa – which has with toothed but not lobed leaves.  White-coiled lousewort is shown  below.

Sulphur Paintbrush – Castilleja sulphurea – continues to bloom in the shade of Engelmann spruce and Subalpine Fir, where snow collected over winter and lasted longer.

Groundsels – Senecio/Packera  – are common and confounding yellow composites. They have equal length bracts like Arnicas, but the leaves alternate up the stem.

The relatively large Thickleaf Groundsel – Senecio crassulus – is still blooming strong in mountain meadows, such as Rocky Springs Loop (above). Look for the even-sized, waxy bracts with black somewhat frayed tips.

Undulating, slightly toothed, slightly succulent or waxy leaves clasp the 1-2’ stems (below).

Related and once grouped in with Senecios, two different “Packeras” continue to challenge this and other botanists. The expert Arthur Cronquist said groundsels are a “transcontinental complex of ill-defined taxa.” It is a challenging (frustrating!) botanical puzzle to try to tell them apart!

Rocky Mountain Groundsel – Packera/Senecio streptanthifolia – is found frequently at lower elevations, and more occasionally at high elevations. The lower leaves are toothed or lobed more or less, as are the upper leaves. The lower leaves are larger than the upper leaves. Plants have many yellow flower heads. I am not sure which species this is! (photo above).

Different Groundsel – Packera/Senecio dimorphophylla – is often hard to tell apart from Rocky mountain groundsel. However the scientific name di- (two), morpho- (shape), phylla (leaf) indicates a distinct difference in the shape and size of basal vs. stem leaves. The basal leaves tend to be unlobed to toothed, the upper leaves more deeply lobed and clasping the stem with arrow-shaped leaf bases (auriculate). At least a few stem-leaves are often larger or equal in size to the basal leaves (I have noticed that the lowest stem leaf is often the largest and most indicative of the species).  The photo below seems a clear identification of this species. I also noted that it seeds in readily to the harsh conditions of talus. 

Asters are beginning to appear.  A common species at high elevations is the Leafybract Aster – Symphiotrichum foliaceum var. apricum – which is low growing, with slightly clasping leaves, and wide bracts (foliaceous) with purple tips surrounding the lavender heads (photo below).

Thickstem aster – Eurybia integrifolius – also has flaring, variable bracts. Flower heads are sticky hairy and a distinctive deep violet blue. Reddish stems are also glandular hairy. This 1-2.5’ plant grows readily at lower elevations, as well (photo below).

Always a special treat to see, Mountain Bog Gentian – Gentian calycosa – appears particularly abundant in moist to wet sites down to Cody Bowl. Observe the delicate lines and spots that attract bumblebee pollinators deep into the open bell shaped flowers. In this photo (below), gentian is nestled in with the common Rocky Mountain Goldenrod.

Rocky Mountain Goldenrod – Solidago multiradiata – is a common plant at both high and lower elevations in Teton County.  To tell it apart from other golendrods, look for clusters of leaves at the base and stiff hairs along the petioles of the lower leaves –a sure way to know the species.  The heads also have over 13 tiny ray flowers – the “multi-radiata” in its name.  Height varies from an inch to a foot or so, depending on the conditions it is growing in.

The rocky talus of Cody Bowl has several speciality flowers that seem to be able to grow out of rock.Fremont Groundsel – Senecio fremontii – has single flowers with the indicative row of waxy bracts. The small leaves are toothed and arranged along the stem: not clustered at the base (although some plants with short stems look like they have basal leaves).  The flowers are single and appear large compared to the leafy body of the plant.

One unusual species Alpine Groundsel – Ligularia/Senecio amplectans – is also part of the groundsel group: Most notable are mostly solitary (1-3), nodding, ½” heads. The leaves are mostly basal and fine-toothed.

Other species are much easier to identify and appreciate:

Parry’s Primrose – Primula parryii – grows very rarely in the talus of Cody Bowl. I have also seen it near the top of Targhee in a similar rocky habitat.

Small-flowered Anemone – Anemone parviflora – is only inches tall with tidy whorled leaves.

And nearby, the deep-pink Teton Anemone – Anemone tetonensis.

Some anemones are already setting seeds!

A particularly tiny plant: Alp Lily – Lloydia serotina – is only 2-6” high. Its 6 white “tepals” remind us it is in the Lily Family. It grows from bulbs.

Similar in size is the Alpine Harebell – Campanula uniflora. Instead of many bell-like flowers per stem found in the more common harebell, this species has only one flower per stem, as the Latin name uni-flora aptly describes.

You may smell this plant before you see it’s blue flowers: Skypilot or Skunkflower – Polemonium viscosum. It ranges in size from 5-12” high.

As one heads down into the lower portion of Rock Springs Loop, flowers once again become plentiful:

Snow Buttercups – Ranunculus adoneus – are blooming brightly in recently melted snowpatches. The leaves are divided 1-2x into narrow lobes (photo below).

A flower mix of more subalpine or meadow species is patchy on the steep slopes.  Below is a combination of Nuttall’s Leptosiphon – Leptosiphon nuttallii – and very low growing Thickleaf Grounsdsel: Another combination includes Sulphur paintbrush, Bog Gentian, and Coiled-beak Lousewort:

There is much more to discover in the high elevations before snow flies. Enjoy looking for the above species and more these last few weeks of summer.

And for other flowers still blooming at this time and with more aster ID go to our 2016 archives: “Get High on Wildflowers”:  https://tetonplants.org/2016/08/

Frances Clark, Wilson, WY

Corrections and comments welcome!

Wally’s World and Poison Creek Trails which loop around the shoulder of Munger Mountain encourage explorations into dry meadows and aspen groves.  Wally’s World Trail runs along an open ridge overwhelmed by mulesears – Wyethia amplexifolia – and abundant fragrant Antelopebrush.  This trail has many of the same sagebrush habitat plants noted in the recent 6.23.17 post (please see).

Antelopebrush – Purshia tridentata – mingles with sagebrush, snowberry, and mulesears along the ridge of Wally’s World, Bridger-Teton National Forest, off Fall Creek Road, Wilson.

Mixed among the sagebrush with Sulphur Buckwheat, Scarlet Gilia, Ballhead Sandwort, and Hawksbeards, are two different red paintbrushes.  Paintbrushes – Castilleja spp. – are tricky plants to identify because of their modified flower parts and also because they hybridize and vary in color, leaf shape, and growth habit even within a given species. Interestingly, they also are hemiparasites.

Paintbrush flowers are hard to identify in part because they have complicated flowers.  A colorful bract (shown to right) is under each flower. Each flower has a colorful calyx tube which is lobed. It surrounds the usually greenish galea = tube of fused petals. The stigma and anthers are protected inside. Here the stigma sticks out from the green and red galea.  If you are not in the national park and have plenty around, pick apart — dissect — a single flower and see what is what.

One of the red paintbrushes Northwestern Paintbrush – Castilleja angustifolia (C. Chromosa) – and Big Sagebrush – Artemesia tridentata var. vaseyana – mix together.  There is more to this view than meets the eye….

Many paintbrushes are hemiparasites on a variety of hosts: grasses, legumes, and also sagebrush.  Northwestern Paintbrush – Castilleja angustifolia  (C. chromosa) – attach “houstonia” to the roots of sagebrush and draw upon its water, nutrients, and some carbon to help the paintbrush grow more robustly.  This hemiparisite doesn’t depend entirely on the host: the chlorophyll in the leaves enables the plant to photosynthesize sugars (which include carbon).

The state flower Wyoming Paintbrush – Castilleja linariifolia – is a hemiparasite on sagebrush as well. In this paintbrush, the bracts are divided into linear lobes, the calyx is orange, toothed, with a long slit down the front where the elongate green galea leans out. This reddish tubular flower is pollinated by hummingbirds.

Aspen Forests are rich places to botanize.  With light shade, greater moister, and more nutrients recycled from the deciduous aspen leaves, wildflowers are able to flourish at this time of year.

The 3- to 4-foot Fernleaf Lovage – Ligusticum filicinum – is beginning to flower. Note the large delicate leaves and umbels of tiny white flowers.

In the same family – the Parsely or Apiaceae Family, Sweetroot – Osmorhiza occidentale – has tiny greenish yellow flowers in umbels and also large divided leaves.

Sweetroot is just beginning to form its tangy fruit.  It is in the same family as many herbs we use: parsely, caraway, dill, fennel, etc.  While most are safe to taste, a few species in this family are highly toxic, such as poison hemlock.

Also in the light shade of aspen groves or in open moist hillsides, are the yellow spires of Bracted Lousewort – Pedicularis bracteosa.  These plants are also hemiparasites, operating like the paintbrushes, obtaining nutrients from surrounding plants.

But perhaps equally interesting is its pollination.  Louseworts have very specific pollinators: bees that can just fit into the flower opening.  As they push inside for nectar, bees get a dusting of pollen on their bodies.  One pair of bee legs is designed for combing off pollen and stashing pollen grains in “buckets” on the hind pair of legs.  However, bee’s can’t reach the pollen lodged between their head and thorax.  When a bee visits the next flower, a perfectly shaped protruding stigma taps into that crevice and bingo the pollen gets stuck to the sticky stigma. The plant wins and seeds can now form!

A much more unusual species, Tall Lousewort – Pedicularis procera – can be seen on Munger Mountain.  The flowers are bigger and reddish, and the fern-like leaves are more frilly than the more common Bracted Lousewart.

Different species of lupines, paintbrushes, and even geranium are found in shadier woodland vs. open sage-covered habitats.

Silvery Lupine – Lupinus argenteus – is found most frequently in forests–aspen or pines.

Silvery Lupine differs from the Silkly lupine, which is found in sageflats, by having many fewer silky hairs.  The banner–the top petal which folds backwards–is smooth, not hairy.  The flowers are slightly smaller and the leaves greener.   

One-foot or more tall Scarlet Paintbrush – Castilleja miniata – has bright red, unlobed bracts beneath the red flowers.  Also, the leaves are  usually not deeply lobed as are the two red paintbrushes observed in sunny, dry locations. 

Sticky Geranium – Geranium viscosissimum – is abundant right now both on sageflats and in woodlands.  Note the nectar guides — the deep pink lines leading into the center of the flowers.  If you look closely with a handlens you can also see (and feel) the many sticky hairs on most parts of the plants.  The hairs happen to be clear.

Richardson’s Geranium – Geranium richardsonii – is white and grows in moist sites.  Its hairs are different!

The sticky hairs of Richardson’s Geranium are purple-tipped. Think of a gooey forest of defense against tiny invaders.

Several members of the Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae) do well in the shade.  Many look very different and have very singular pollination behaviors from one another. Families are like that.

Colorado Columbine – Aquilegia coerulea – is very showy and a favorite to find. Elegant flowers have 5 flaring white petal-like sepals, 5 tubular petals that form 2”-long spurs trailing out the back, and many yellow anthers. Leaves are delicately dissected into 9 parts. These 6-24” plants are pollinated by moths and hummingbirds which have mouth parts that can reach the nectar way back in the flower “spurs”.

In contrast to columbine, the flowers of Meadowrue – Thalictrum occidentale – are very inconspicuous.  It has male and female plants. Wind blows the pollen from the male anthers to the female stigmas on a nearby plant. This is a male plant. 

Female flowers of Western Meadowrue – Thalictrum occidentale. The pink stigmas stretch to catch pollen grains.  As the wind cannot “see” there is no need for showy petals and such to attract pollinating birds or insects. Also, petals would get in the way of the wind.

Fruits of Western Meadowrue are already forming.  There are actually two possible meadowrue species T. fenderi and T. occidentale.  The size and shape of the fruits help to distinguish the two species.  This observer does not swear to the species ID as T. occidentale.

Yet another buttercup relative literally hangs out in the bushes.  Western Clematis – Clematis occidentalis – is a vine which curls its tendrils around branches to support itself.  The flowers nod downwards.  Often it is hard for us to see more than the back of the blue flowers; however, low flying pollinators look up into the blue to see hundreds of gleaming white stamens – a treasure trove of pollen. Heaven. 

This cousin has many small white flowers whose numerous stamens (not petals) form a starry effect.  Placed together, the flowers create an appealing show to small pollinators.  

While delicate in appearance, the flowers will produce ruby red berries that are poisonous–they were  used to make poison arrows.  Hence the name Red Baneberry – Actea rubra. Bane in a plant’s name indicates poisonous.  “Bane” means misery, misfortune, pain in the English language. 

After looking at the photos, can you see any family resemeblance among the buttecup relatives?  Hint: Look at leaves, look at stamens….(answer below)

Three additional flowers to look for in the forest at this time.

One is pretty obvious–reddish stems and spotted flowers:

Spotted Coralroot – Corallorhiza maculata – is growing along trail edges in aspen groves.  Coralroots do not have chlorophyll for photosynthesis and instead are connected to mychorrizal fungi which transport water, nutrients, and carbon from host trees.  There are several species of coralroot in Teton County.  This reddish species has white flowers spotted with red. Each flower has two tiny lobes on either side of the lowest petal (lip) and a bump (spur) under the throat . 

Two are tiny, easily overlooked or even stepped upon!

These merry flowers are barely 1/4″ wide and decorate slender 12″ stems.  With the light behind them, Small-flowered Mitreworts – Mitella stauropetala – look like magical fairy wands.  

Northwestern Twayblade – formerly Listera caurina, now Neottia  banksiana – is a 4-12″ orchid found in conifer forests (vs. aspen groves).  We came upon a few hidden clusters today.  It is found in Wyoming only in the Teton County.

There is no information on the pollination of Northwestern Twayblades–Listera caurina. However, one of its close relatives Listera cordata, which is also found in Teton County, has an amazing pollination mechanism that may be similar to this species. It is detailed below to encourge us to look for both species and do a close comparision,

  Pictured is Northwestern Twayblade. The story below is about its relative Heart-leaved Twayblade.  First it is important to know that in orchids, the miniscule pollen grains are held in wads called pollinia…. Also the the anthers and pistil are fused into a single column or rostellum….  Attracted by the fetid odor and a bit of nectar, a small pollinator, such as  fungus gnat, comes to the flower. Rooting around the lower lip for nectar, it triggers one of three pressure-sensitive hairs on the arching upper part of the flower–the rostellum–above it.  At this point, the rostellum “releases a droplet of glue and the pollinia are instantly released to fall on the glue.”  Off the gnat goes with the pollinia stuck to its body.  Quickly, the tip of the rostellum unfolds to shield the underlying stigma to prevent self-fertilization in case the gnat returns. The next day, the wide stigma is uncovered and it arches up, receptive to the next gnat carrying pollinia from a different plant.  As the gnat crawls under the rostellum for nectar, the pollinia sticks to the stigma and hundreds of pollen grains germinate to form hundreds of dust like seeds. Thus begins the opportunity for new generations.  (Based on research of pollination of Listera cordata in California – Ackerman and Mesler, Am. Journal of Botanty, 1979)

Observing any twayblades in Jackson Hole, very carefully try to determine 1. odor, 2. presence of trigger hairs, 3. is the stigma exposed or covered? This could help determine if the pollination mechanisms within these two species are at all similar.

In any case, there are many more flowers to see!  Keep on botanizing!

Frances Clark, Wilson, WY – June 28, 2017

P.S. Many Buttercup Family relatives typically have deeply divided to compound leaves; highly modified sepals and petals or sometimes none; and many, many anthers. Delphinium/larkspur, monkshood, and sugar bowls are all related, as well.