Sageflats, hillsides, and ridges throughout Jackson Hole are a bloom! Now is the time to catch the balsamroot extravaganza and to look for other treats throughout. There is so much to see. To encouarge you, below are photos with ID tips of the most common species. We have also provided some information on how flowers “work”—which pollinators come by, how do they fit, where do the fruits and seeds form. By looking closely (including dissecting plants) and knowing more, flowers are more fun.  So please enjoy botanizing as you hike; or just take a walk, sit and watch what is unfurling and flying about you.

Yellow Composites:

Balsamroot exhibits a classic form of the former Composite Family now called the Aster Family.  Sunflowers, asters, pussytoes, dandelions are all related. Let’s take a closer look using balsamroot as our first example.

The basic flower plan in the Composite Family is a set of many small flowers arrayed on a platform surrounded by green bracts to form a “head”. Balsamroot has a ring of showy ray flowers which consist of 5 fused petals that are tongue-like (ligulate). The inner flowers are “disc” flowers also with five petals which fuse to form a tube with flared tips.

Five dark male anthers develop facing inward. The female pistil pushes through the press of male anthers to push out pollen grains that tend to stick to the outside of the stigma ready for pick up by pollinators. Soon the pollen is gone or dried up, and the stigma opens wide into a two-parted arch ready to receive pollen from another flower delivered by a pollinator helping in cross-pollination. Many different insects can easily land and forage for pollen and nectar over the course of several days. Composite heads for insects are sort of like you parking and shopping at Walmart.

Disc flowers start blooming on the outside and form a Fibonnaci spiral inwards.

Each fertilized flower produces a fruit below the petals (inferior ovary). Inside the dry fruit will be a single seed (achene). This is the same design as sunflower seeds: the hard outer shell with one seed inside. Often when you open the flower head you will see grubs settled in for a good meal.

The Composite Family has hundreds of variations (species) on this theme growing around the world. More examples are below.

Arrowleaf balsamroot – Balsamorhiza sagittata – still dominates many slopes and sage flats in Jackson Hole right now. It has arrow-shaped, slightly hairy, large 1-2′ grayish leaves all growing on long petioles from the base. Stalks have 1-2 large flowers with yellow ray flowers and disc flowers. Fresh flowers smell like chocolate, and the roots have a balsam scent.

Mule’s Ears – Wyethia amplexicaulis – look similar to Arrowleaf Balsamroot at first. But note the leaves are shaped like a mule’s ears and are smooth and green.

Several orange-yellow flowers alternate up the stem along with smaller leaves. Mule’s Ears tend to be found in relatively moist, often heavy clay soils.

Twin Arnica – Arnica sororia – is having a good year around Antelope Flats and foothills. The bright yellow flowers stand upon 1’ stems with 2-3 pairs of narrow opposite leaves with a few more at the base. 

Common Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale – This introduced European plant is still popping up in our lawns, fields, and trails. It has all ligulate or ray flowers that look like petals – actually each “petal” is 5 petals combined. The bracts are in two rows, the outer row is reflexed, the inner stands upright. 

From each ray flower, tiny rough fruits (achenes) are formed and are attached to a pappus that serves as a parachute for distribution of the seeds by wind.

While annoying to us, dandelions are favored by many bees and seed-eating birds. They are also full of healthy vitamins and nutrients.  https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/dandelion Note we have native dandelions seen mostly at higher elevations.

Mountain or False Dandelion – Agoseris glauca – All the flower heads have yellow, ligulate or ray flowers, as in the common dandelion. Each plant produces only one flower head.

Several rows of upright bracts encircle the heads. All the leaves are basal. 

Fruits are elongated and smooth. You can see why this is called False Dandelion–it takes a close look to tell the differences.

There are three varieties of this species and two other genera (Nothocalais nigrescens and Microseries nutans) that are very similar. The achenes or fruits are the best way to be sure of your ID and are not addressed here. 

Pussytoe – Antennaria sp. – flower heads have only disc flowers and scaly inconspicuous bracts and, therefore, look very small and plain compared to many of our composites. Pussytoes in general are easy to ID by their “pussytoe”-like flower heads. Heads have either male or female disc flowers on separate plants (dioecious).

In the photo, the heads with male flowers are on the left with anthers bearing pollen, and the heads of female flowers are on the right with delicate white stigmas with many extra bristles. Pussytoes often make seeds without fertilization (apotomictic) and/or are polyploids (having extra sets of chromosomes) which can make ID more complicated.

Below is a Small-leaved Pussytoe – Antennaria microphylla with a mat of small, hairy leaves

and its rosy form with pinkish bracts (female heads):

Low growing Shaggy Fleabane – Erigeron pumilus – is common on many dry knolls. Fleabanes have heads surrounded by a ring of equal-sized bracts and many narrow ray flowers. In this species the maturing flower heads nod, the 1-2″ leaves are very narrow, and hairs stick straight out like the hairs on a frightened cat! Hairs reduce water loss by shading the surface of the leaf and reducing velocity of wind currents. Hairs are common on plants growing in dry locations.

One of Many Mustards

Rough Wallflower – Erysimum asperum – grows to 18″ with several yellow flowers at the top. Flowers in the Mustard Flower typically have 4 sepals, 4 petals, 6 anthers – 4 long, 2 short, and a single pistil with one stigma.

In this specis the ovary extends into a 4-6″ fruit called a silique–think sleek siliques.

Other mustards such as Penny Cress – Thlapsi arvense – may have roundish silicles where the fruit is about as long as wide. In the picture below you can seed the seeds forming inside.

This is a very weedy 12″ annual of disturbed sites; however, it can be helpful in stabilizing open slopes, providing a protective layer from eroding rain drops until other plants can take root. The Mustard Family is very large with many rare as well as many weedy plants. Fruits and even hairs may be essential for ID, a bit frustrating for this botanist.

More Yellows:

Stoneseed – Lithosperma ruderale – has delicately scented yellow flowers tucked amidst the leaves near the top of robust 1-2’ plants.

Plants have been used historically as a contraceptive by various native peoples here in North America, and its cousin was similarly useful in European. The fruits will look like white tear drops and are very tough.

Cinquefoils – Potentilla spp. – are just coming out with their cream to yellow flowers on top of 2’ stems. About four common species with a variety of subspecies complicate precise identification, with several other low growing species also found in the county. Generally, Cinquefoil leaves are divided into 5 (cinque) or more leaflets arranged either in a palmate or pinnate arrangement. Flowers are held near the top and have 5 green sepals and 5 yellow petals with many stamens and pistils. Examining the small flower features with a 10x handlens is critical to accurate ID. Regardless of identity, cinquefoils are very important for many pollinator species, and are host plants for several different butterflies. 

Paintbrushes

There are several species of red, orange and yellow paintbrushes in Teton County. While most people recognize a paintbrush, technical features separate the different kinds, and hybridization and allopolyploidy (multiple sets of chromosomes from different parents) add to the confusion. For instance, colors may range widely within a species.

Most paintbrushes are hemi-parasitic: they attach to grasses, lupines, and other host species to grow vigorously. Indeed, some siphon off toxins from lupines to produce particularly effective defense systems. If purchasing a paintbrush, be sure to also obtain its host plant for success.

Botany is a hands-on occupation: take a 10x handlens, find some examples (not in a national park) and do some dissection to see if you can distinguish the species. Below is  picture of a typical unit to start with: full unit left, taken apart to show: bract which provides added color and protection; sepals forming a tubular calyx; and the petals (corolla) creating an elongate tubular flower with a greenish “lip”. Anthers and pistil are secured within.

The following three yellow species are found in and around lower, sunny, relatively dry elevations of Jackson Hole now. They are not easy to ID, and just knowing the plant is a paintbrush is great!

Yellow Paintbrush – Castilleja flava – is a bright yellow color. Flowers are rather remote and not so hidden by bracts as the other 2 species. Calyx 12-23 mm long, deeply and subequally cleft above and below, its primary lobes are divided into 2 triangular, acute segments 2-6 mm long. (The photo of parts above is also Yellow Paintbrush.)

Pallid Indian Paintbrush – Castilleja pallescens – is pale yellow, the calyx (fused sepals) is cleft more deeply in front and back than to the sides. Ultimate calyx lobes are acute to acuminate. Note the large expanded pouch: lip, and the stipma jutting out the top of the flower tube.

Parrot-head Indian Paintbrush – Castilleja pilosa var. longispica – Also pale yellow, the calyx is cleft to about the same length into 4 equal, pointed lobes. The inflorescence overall has puberulent to sparsely villous hairs. Plants are many-stemmed and generally decumbent at their bases. No photo, but in your dissection look for the calyx with equally sized, sharp pointed lobes.

Parsley/Carrot Family – Apiaceae 

Look for the umbel of the inflorescence. The tiny flowers are held out at the end of stalks arranged around a central point like ribs of an umbrella.

Nineleaf Biscuitroot – Lomatium triternatum var. platycarpum (now L. simplex) – As the name implies, the leaves are thrice divided in threes to from nine linear lobes and look grass like.

The flower umbels each have a whorl of tiny bracts around their bases.

Each flower will have dried fruits that split into two single seeded parts=schizocarps. Here they are flat with a few ridges and wing-like edge. Fruits are important in ID of the Carrot Family.

The starchy, edible taproots were a source of food and medicine to Native American tribes. The roots were cooked or dried and ground into flour, which could be shaped into cakes and stored for later use. They were also used for flavoring. 

Wyeth Biscuitroot – Lomatium ambiguum – blooms along dry, often disturbed slopes and flats, and are particularly abundant around the Saw Mill Pond overlook and the road cut on the north end of the Moose-Wilson Road and the inner park road. The compound leaves are divided in uneven segments. There is no set of bracts below the flower umbel. The yellow is a shaper tone than found on the Nineleaf Biscuitroot.

Whites, creams to pinks:

Bolander’s Yampah – Perideridia bolanderi – is clearly in the Parsley family described above with its lace-like umbels and thread-like divided leaves. It looks very similar to its cousin Common Yampah – P. montana/gairderni, but this species comes out earlier, the leaves often have swollen bases, and the fruits are more elongate.

It is locally abundant now at Saw Mill Ponds Overlook on the north end of Moose-Wilson Road, but generally is rare in Teton County. Yampah roots were important food for Native Americans, as well as bears.

Grassy Death Camas – Zigadenus venenosum var. gramineus – is indeed poisonous. It is considered by the USFS to be one of the most deadly meadow plants to livestock, particularly sheep, and is known to affect elk, mule deer, and small mammals as well. All parts are toxic due to the presence of zygacine, a neurotoxic steroidal alkaloid.

In the Lily Family, Death Camas is a bulb plant, and spreads vegetatively by bulblets. The leaves are grass-like, and the flowers are held in a panicle. Greenish yellow nectar glands form at the base of the 6 white tepals. When sepals and petals are similar they are called tepals, which is a frequent trait of members of the Lily Family, such as Easter Lily.

Field Chickweed – Cerastium arvense – is aptly named as it is often found spreading in fields as well as sunny trail sides.

Many people pull “dastardly chickweeds” from their gardens. Indeed, the much smaller Mouse-ear Chickweed (C. fontanum) introduced from Europe is considered a weedy species.

I have planted the native chickweed to brighten some corners of my garden. I have discovered it has a wonderful fragrance! There is also a higher elevation Mountain Chickweed – C. beeringianum for when you are above 9000’.  Chickweed is in the Pink Family. It has five notched separate white petals and the the leaves are narrow and opposite. 

Long-leaved Phlox – Phlox longifolia – have mostly pinkish, tubular flowers whose petals flare out at the tops. Plants grow to 6” or more, often sprawling.  Relative to our earlier blooming phlox, the leaves are long at 2-3”, narrow, opposite, and slightly hairy. Flower fragrance is alluring to long-tongued butterflies, moths, and some bees which land on the flared petals and dip their probosci deep inside. 

Sulphur Buckwheats – Eriogonum umbellatum – are just expanding from tight red fists, into pink to cream umbels of flowers that tower over a mat of oval leaves. (Yes, it has umbels, but no schizocarps as in the Parsely Family). Flowers lure in all sorts of insects which are in turn important protein sources for sage-grouse chicks. Plentiful dried capsules appeal to birds and rodents in the fall. Buckwheats are useful and beautiful plants for relatively dry, sunny spots in your garden.

Bastard Toadflax – Comandra umbellata – is genetically speaking odd. It is the only species in its genus (monotypic), and one of only two genera in the Comandraceae, formerly Santalaceae – Sandlewood Family. This species is found throughout much North America and restricted to the Balkan peninsula in Europe. Strange taxonomy and distribution indeed.

This 6″ plant is a hemiparasite, with stubby root structures (haustoria) which attach to hosts such as pussytoes, grasses, and aspens to name a few. It is also the alternate host for the comandra blister rust (Cronartium comandrae), a rust fungus that affects lodgepole and other pine species in North America.

Pinks to Rose to Reds

Prairie Smoke – Geum triflorum – has clusters of three dangling flowers with pinkish sepals that almost hide the yellow petals.

With maturity, fruits stand upright holding aloft their hairy styles which produce a smoke-like effect and help the seeds fly off to new lands.

With the flowers and mat-forming, pinnately compound leaves that have a lovely fall color, Prairie Smoke is an enjoyable and commercially available native garden plant.

Sticky Geranium – Geranium viscosissimum – is one of the most recognized plants in our area.  The 5 radial, pink-to-blue petals are perfect landing pads for a variety of insects. They can easily follow the fine “nectar guides” to the center to where pollen and stigmas await. The 10 anthers mature first. Later 5 sticky stigmas arch outward to catch the pollen. This arrangment is another strategy to assure cross-pollination.

Sticky stem hairs serve to capture small, possibly marauding, insects, which in turn attract bigger insects that then glean the insects, providing the plant double protection. Also, these glandular hairs can dissolve the dead insects, enabling the plant to absorb nutrients from their bodies.

Scarlet Gilia – Ipomopsis aggregata – “Ipomopsis” means startling appearance. Indeed, these brilliant red flowers have great appeal to hummingbirds that can see red (insects cannot).  These biennial to short-lived perennial plants are currently shooting up their stems and expanding their hairy dissected leaves from last year’s rosettes.

Flowers unfold and hummingbirds hover and reach their beaks and lapping tongues into the long tube for nectar. In so doing, the birds bump their heads against the protruding anthers and get a dollop of pollen which sticks. They then fly to another flower where the white stigma is ready to pick up the pollen off the bird’s forehead. 

Later in the year, or in other parts of the west, Scarlet Gilia flowers may bloom more pink to white, attracting moth pollinators. The flowers have an unappealing skunky fragrance to us people.

True Blues

Lewis’ Flax – Linum Lewisii– is covering roadsides with their delicate wands of sky-blue flowers.

The European/Asian species Linum usitatissimum (roughly translated: very useful) has long been known for two main values. The stems have particularly long, strong fibers which have been used for centuries to make linen. Current research is being conducted on the mechanical properties of flax for making composite materials. Flaxseed or linseed oil has been used for constipation and control of cholesterol. Always check with a doctor for proper use as it can affect how one absorbs other medicines.  In any case, flax is a beautiful plant.

Beards Tongues – Penstemon spp. – are hanging out in patches on dry hillsides.

Our penstemons are blue (rarely white) and are pollinated by bees. All penstemons have opposite leaves and 5 petals forming a tube. Inside are four arching stamens, each with paired anthers. A fifth stamen that looks like a hairy tongue lies at the entry. This “staminode” doesn’t have pollen but does direct pollinators (so the researchers say). 

Bees land on the lower lip and follow the lines and variations of light back into the tube. Nectar is produced in hairs at the base of the stamens.  Researchers say the hairy staminode helps push the bee into the anthers, where they get doused with pollen. Visting the next flower, the bee may then trip upon the long style with stigma to facilitate fertilization. Take a look inside the flowers and think like a bee or find a mini go-pro to attach to its head. (Really, how do the researchers know how a staminode works?)

Silky Lupines – Lupinus sericea – are just coming out on the sunny open sageflats and hills. The hairy palmate leaves and pea-like flowers are definitive for ID.

Look for white or pink dots on the upright banner: a contrasting white dot indicates the flower is fresh, ready to be pollinated; a duller pink or purple blotch indicates a pollinator has come for the nectar already or the nectar has dried up.

This color change serves as a signal for the bee not to waste its energy looking for nectar or pollen.

Low Larkspurs – Delphinium nutttallianum – have been blooming for a few weeks. They have welcomed migrating broad-tailed hummingbirds with their nectar. 

Hummingbirds can hover just outside the flowers, thrusting their beaks into the long spurs to lap up nectar, thereby brushing against the cluster of dangling anthers. On a more mature flower, where the anthers have withered, the pollen-covered bee wiill bump upon the 3 protruding stigmas.

Larkspurs are poisonous to livestock and many mammals. 

Different species of Bluebells – Mertensia spp. – are human favorites across the country and consequently have several common names. They are spring ephemerals—plants come up in early spring, are hopefully fertilized, store up food underground quickly, and then wither, leaving little trace of the plants by the end of the summer.

The dangle of flowers is advertisement. Several flowers together put on more of an show than if scattered on the stem. Flowers turn from pink to blue signaling treats are ready for bumblebee pollinators.  And then the petal tubes drop off indicating no more customers needed.  Virginia Bluebells – M. virginiana – are garden favorites in the east.  Our local species may be good natives for our gardens here, as well.

Sagebrush Bluebells – Mertensia oblongifolia – grow to 12-16” on dry, often grassy hillsides (shown above). Tall Fringed or Mountain Bluebells – Mertensia ciliata – look very similar but are found arching 3’ high over streams at low elevations now, but then at high elevations in mid-August.

Stickseeds – Hackelia spp. – are members of the Borage Family along with For-get-me-nots – Myosotis spp. – and bluebells (above).

They have white to blue demure flowers open to the sky; however, they produce pesky fruits that attach to socks and dogs in order to make their way to new ground away from domineering parent plants. Although they appear delicate, stickseeds have an evolutionary determination to succeed.

Spotted stickseed – Hackelia patens – has white flowers with delicate blue nectar guides.

Two other stickseeds have truly blue flowers and tend to inhabit more moist, streamside habitats: Jessica’s Stickseed – Hackelia micrantha – has multiple stems which help indicate it is a perennial. Large-flowered Stickseed – H. floribunda has slightly larger flowers and fewer stems. It is an annual/biennial that grows in disturbed sites as along the Old Pass Road.

A Monumental Plant:

Monument Plant or Green Gentian – Frasera speciosa – is having a good year!

Its hard to miss the 4-5′ towers of flowers sprouting up on hillsides. Not so long ago, it was thought this species was a biennial or short-lived perennial: the tall tower rose from where there was a whorl of leaves the year before.

A researcher marked the plants, and through intensive research over years in the Colorado Rockies, Dr. Inouye https://www.jstor.org/stable/1940400 determined plants take several decades to bloom. They have to amass 20+ leaves, maybe adding one leaf a year if conditions are good enough. The leaves add energy into the deep tap roots for the winter which then sprout into new rossettes the next spring. Slowly, slowly they gather enough energy for the final climax.

Furthermore, it was discovered that the flower buds were triggered by relatively high rain in June and July three years before they actually bloomed! This trigger of mature plants produces cohorts of many plants blooming at once in a given area.

The open flowers attract myriad insect pollinators which then leads to hundreds of seeds, if not thousands, per plant This abundance is greater than the many consumers can stomach, and so there is a chance for some seeds to grow to maturity under the helpful decomposing shade of the toppled parent plant.

Please get out and enjoy!

There are so many places to go and see wildflowers right now. Most of these pictures were taken driving around Antelope Flats, out by Kelly Warm Springs, and along the inner park road in Grand Teton National Park. Flowers can be found hiking up around Cache Creek just to the east of Jackson, or Trail Creek just west of Wilson. Munger Mountain and Ann’s Ridge (photo above) to the south have similar open habitats. Note: While flowers may be fading at lower elevations or in more southern parts of the valley, they may well be blooming fresh to the north or higher elevations.

If you have questions or see mistakes, please contact us at: tetonplants@gmail.com. As we are out much of the time, our response may not be quick. Also check earlier postings of “What’s in Bloom” on this same website.

Frances Clark, Wilson, WY

June 28, 2022

This summer has been notable for a late spring, then heat, drought, dashes of rain, and smoke. Flowers burst forth starting in June, sped along with the warmth, but then began to crisp early in many locations. Reports include tall forb and alpine flowers averaging three weeks early. 

Flowers still bloom along streams and shady canyons, and road sides are sporting late summer yellows in abundance. Fruits are ripening fast. Here are some of the most obvious flowers at lower elevations, which means they should still be going strong farther up the trail. Butterflies are active on these remaining nectar sources: fritillarys, coppers, blues, tortoiseshells, and parnassia, to name the more recognizable groups.

Showy Goldeneye (Vigueria/Heliomeris multiflora) is abundant along roads, in meadows, and up hillsides ranging from Jackson Hole to Yellowstone National Park. The cheerful yellow heads wave atop slender 2-3’ stems with mostly opposite leaves. Sometimes the rounded ray flowers are visibly lighter toward their ends—under UV light they look like bulls-eyes to pollinators. These “composite” flowers with both ray and disc flowers provide a showy and easy place for pollinators to land and gather pollen and nectar from many tiny flowers. Like going to a big box store.

Pacific Aster (Symphiotrichum ascendens) forms colonies of blue along roadsides and smaller patches in more wooded areas.

They bloom at various heights: mowed, grazed, or just left alone. One way to tell these blue asters from others is to look at the venation of their elongate leaves.  The veins outline elongate areas. 

Curly Gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa ) has colonized along main highways and park roads. Early herbarium records indicate that they have naturalized relatively recently in the county. 

They tolerate drought and winds of roadsides with their tough slightly succulent foliage. Their sap is also thick. Flower heads are sticky and the bracts curl under, hence its common name. It has an interesting fragrance.

Golden Aster (Heterotheca/Chrysopsis villosa) also colonizes park roadsides and collects in dry depressions.  The leaves are clearly hairy, shorter, and the yellow composite flowers abundant. Flowers are now forming heads of individual fruits: each fruit with one seed inside is attached to a fluffy pappus of hairs that helps them disperse into new dry sites. 

Canada Goldenrods (Solidago canadensis var. salebrosa) have been blooming strong over the last few weeks. Goldenrods have a reputation for causing allergies. This is a bum rap. Wind pollinated grasses and ragweeds (Ambrosia spp.), which are found farther east, often bloom at the same time unnoticed. Wind pollen is light and abundant and designed to disperse on the wind, and therefore gets up our nostrils. Flowers with showy petals like goldenrods have evolved to attract insects to carry the pollen from plant to plant—pollen is relatively heavy and not flying about on its own. 

Canada Goldenrod has many slightly toothed, pointed, 2-3” leaves alternating up 2-4’ stems.  Tiny heads contain about 13 ray flowers. Here the many small composite flowers bunched together create a show signaling in pollinators who can perch and wander about for the goods of pollen and nectar. Also, there are many other tiny and large insect crawling in and about the flower heads, some munching, others laying eggs, some just hiding from predators.

For plant nerds: Two other common goldenrods are smaller, smooth all over, with most of their larger leaves bunched near the base. Rocky Mountain Goldenrod (Solidago multiradiata) is distinguished by ciliate hairs long the petiole of the basal leaves and 13 ray flowers per head.

Sticky Goldenrod (Solidago simplex) has smooth petioles and heads with only about 8 ray flowers. Flower heads can be a bit resinous or sticky.

Thickstem Asters – Eurybia integrifolia – are tough, 2-2.5’ plants seen in a variety of habitats and elevations.

Their flower heads have sticky bracts and stems, and its thick stems tend to zig-zag. Flower heads have deep blue to purple ray flowers surrounding the yellow to rusty disc flowers. Lower leaves are much larger than those along the upper stems.

Fireweeds (Epilobium/Chamerion angustifolium) were also notably early this year and some didn’t bloom at all. Those still blooming tend to be at high elevations or in moist or shady locations lower down.

If you observe closely, you can see the flowers change flowering stages. First the anthers (above) produce male pollen while female part located in the center is still undeveloped. Then the anthers wither and the female stigma matures (below) ready to receive pollen from another flower. This progression from male to female avoids flowers self-pollinating. Flowers at the bottom of the inflorescence bloom first.

Many plants are already going to fruit and seed. Their seeds, dispersed on the wind, remain viable for only a few weeks.

In high meadows where fireweed can be abundant, hummingbirds are important pollinators. They load up on nectar before migrating south. Hummingbirds lap, don’t suck, nectar. They have little bristles at the tips of their tongues and rapidly dart their tongues back and forth into their long beaks while hovering. Truly a feat.

Rabbitbrushes are flourishing right now, with more to come. They are particularly important for supplying nectar at the end of the flowering season: look for myriad butterflies, bees, and other winged invertebrates working them over.

We have a 4 common varieties of rabbitbrushes in Teton County. These shrubs typically range from 1-3 (4)’, grow in relatively dry, sunny conditions along roadsides and hillsides, often on disturbed soils. They stand out at this time of year. Once in one genus, they are now split into two. All have linear leaves and bunches of flower heads with only yellow disc flowers, giving them a similar appearance. The varieties can be difficult to tell apart!

Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosus) has straight narrow leaves and tomentose (felt-like hairy) stems. They smell when broken and when fresh twigs can exude a white sap – hence “rubber” rabbitbrush and nauseosus in the name. 

For the botany nerd:

var. oreophilus (above) has very narrow 1-nerved leaves, greenish tomentose stems, and smooth involucral bracts.  2.5-5’ tall.

var. nauseosus has white tomentose stems, narrow grayish green leaves, and tomentose (hairy) involucral bracts. 1-2’ tall.

Compared to Rubber Rabbitbrush, Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) typically has twisted, often wider, leaves, often with stiff hairs on leaf edges (ciliate). Also they are somewhat sticky e.g. viscid, as in the name.

var. lanceolatus has hairy upper stems and often hairy leaves which are mostly 2-6 mm wide. Involucral bracts are hairy. More common and low growing at 6-18” high than var. viscidiflorus (not shown.)

See the next posting for fruits found at this time of year. https://wordpress.com/post/tetonplants.org/4696

Frances Clark, Program Coordinator, Teton Plants, Wilson, WY

tetonplans@gmail.com

While flowers are disappearing, many are in fact forming fruits. Some fruits are dry and brownish, others soft and berry-like, often turning red.

Three red berries and one speckled:

Walking in the moist, shady forest and openings such as along the Trail Creek and Cache Creek trail systems, you may come across the following berries on herbaceous plants. After the fruit photos we show the flowers.

Red Baneberries – Actea rubra—are poisonous to us but not so to birds or small mammals. Its shiny fruits are arranged in racemes: stalks arise off a central axis as if all are racing away. Sometimes baneberries appear in white. It is in the Buttercup Family.

Three species in the Lily Family have elliptical to egg-shaped leaves with parallel veins.

Twisted Stalk — Streptopus amplexicaulis — has long arching forked stems 3’ high which zig zag slightly. Leaves clasp the stem and at each joint (axis) a single ovoid red berry dangles below. Take a close look for the kink in the pedicel where there is also a small gland (perhaps to attract insects?). Twisted Stalks often grow along stream edges. 

Fairy Bells — Prosartes trachycarpa –usually have two berries to match where there were once two yellow flowers at the end of each stem. Berries change from green to orange to a velvet red. They are not quite round nor are they smooth. The covering is textured and contains several seeds.

False Lily-of-the-Valley – Maianthemum racemosum – has a panicle of spotted fruits held at the end of 1-3’ arching single stems. In a panicle, stalks come from a central stem and then branch again, as if going off in a panic. The leafy stems arise from a thick rhizome underground.

While the speckled berries ripen to red, they are often scarfed up by birds or rodents before you see them.

Umbellifers:  This large family of plants was recognized by the Greeks for its distinctive flower arrangement. The Umbelliferae Family is now called the Apiaceae or Parsley/Carrot Family. The flowers are arranged in an umbel: spokes from a central point like ribs of an umbrella.

The dried fruits are termed schizocarps: they split into two parts each with one seed, dangling from a cool hanger-like structure-carpophore. When we eat “seeds” of dill, celery, caraway, cumin, anise, and coriander, we are actually consuming schizocarps.

The largest umbellifer we see is Cow Parsnip – Heracleum spondylium — with its 3’ divided leaves with very broad leaflets. The stems are over one-inch thick, hollow, and have hairs that can cause a rash with some people.

Plants with big leaves need a lot of water to keep them turgid so you often see them near streams or in wet meadows.

Cow Parsnipis is related to Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), a highly invasive introduced species found in the East and northwestern states. Hogweed is highly phototoxic, meaning the sap combined with sunlight can cause a very nasty burn-like rash.

Sharptooth Angelica — Angelica arguta — is only slightly shorter but the leaves are twice divided with smaller leaflets. The schizocarps are more bunched and also have more ribs to them.–reminiscent of celery leaves, to which it is related.

The 2’ long and wide lacy leaves of Fernleaf Licorice-root or Lovage — Ligusticum filicinum—turn a beautiful gold as they begin to dry out. (Below is one whole leaf)

Schizocarps are held up to 3’ high, are abundant, but are very small and fragile:

The flowers were also very delicate and lacy in their umbels. These plants can be plentiful in open meadows low and high. Their fragrant roots were used for medicine.

Western Sweetroot – Osmorhiza occidentalis – has almost disappeared for the season; however, you may still find the elongate schizocarps dangling along a trail edge or meadow. Earlier they had a licorice-anise flavor to them. 

If you look closely at the thine dark-brown shiny schizocarps above you can see how the one to the right is split and the two sides are dangling from a very delicate carpophore. This is the same scheme of all the other schizocarps but they are so delicate we often miss it.

It is fascinating to watch the development of flowers to fruits. While we may bemoan the passage of summer, there are always botanical treasures to behold!

Frances Clark, Program Coordinator, Teton Plants, Wilson, WY

tetonplants@gmail.com

August 18, 2021

A late-July hike to Mt. Elly, south of Teton Pass, is an adventure through fields of wildflowers.

This post is in cooperation with the Wyoming Wilderness Association.   (https://www.wildwyo.org/ ) which promotes the preservation of Wyoming’s wild lands.  Peggie dePasquale, Associate Director, asked us to lead a group wildflower hike into the Palisades Wilderness Study Area at the end of July; however, due to concerns of Covid 19, we decided it was best not to be crowding around to view intriguing plants.

The following post encourages you to get out to see the flowers now along Teton Pass and other trails at similar elevations both in the Palisades WSA and elsewhere. Many, if not most, of the flowers will be the same. And they will keep on blooming at higher elevations or in cooler sites over the next couple of weeks.

The mile-and-a-half hike south from Teton Pass to Mt. Elly gently rises from 8,400’ to 9,200’ in elevation. The trail takes you across moist and dry mountain meadows covered in perennial wildflowers, through the dense shade of older growth Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir forests where fewer flowers persist, and to a south facing prominence dominated by sagebrush. At the end of the trail before it descends into Black Canyon, you can take in the expansive view south into the Palisades Wilderness Study Area (WSA).

The WSA is one half of the Greater Palisades Area that encompasses a quarter of a million acres of wild and untrammeled land. To learn more about the management challenges that surround the Palisades check out the website for the WWA film, PalisdesProject.org.

{photo by Peggy dePasquale, WWA)

On to Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers!

The following plants are organized more or less in the order of appearance. Most can be seen within the first half-mile to the junction with the cell tower. Numbers on the map by Susan Marsh helps to orient you:

Along with the photos, descriptions are meant to be helpful in identifying species. At the end of each is a rating of “relative frequency” for this trail: R-Rare, O-Occasional, F-Frequent – C-Common, A-Abundant, LA – Locally Abundant e.g. a plentiful in only one or two places.

Here is a diagram of the basic flower parts to help you to see and identify the flowers – fun puzzles! (image from greenandvibrant.com)

1.To start, climb up the trail (not the access road) through large old trees:

You will see two very large trees with flaking bark, Engelmann Spruce – Picea engelmannii. It has square, pointed, stiff needles that sit on little pegs. These sharp needles are typical of spruce. Cones dangle down and stay intact. They are often stashed by red squirrels for their winter food supply. O

Look for 3 small trunks at the bend in the trail that are mostly gray and smooth with horizontal lines of bumps. These are Subalpine Firs – Abies lasciocarpa. The bumps are filled with a sticky resin that helps defend the tree from boring predators. The resin has been used by humans for sealing seams of canoes. The wood is brittle and used for light construction. The individual needles are flat, blunt, and feel soft.  They are “friendly firs.” Cones stand up on the upper branches and the scales and seeds will fall off when they ripen in the fall.

These two tree species are stalwarts of the higher elevation “spruce/fir” forests seen around Jackson Hole and south into the Snake River Range of the Palisades WSA.  They grow where there is sufficient moisture/snow.

In the understory are several large 6-10’ shrubs of Mountain Ash – Sorbus scoparia. The leaves are divided into shiny leaflets arranged along a central stalk—”pinnately divided”. These “compound” leaves alternate along the woody stem. The sprays of small white flowers are fading and will produce bunches of red-orange berries in the fall that are relished by bears, small mammals, and birds.

2. As you step out into the sunny slope, you will see several of the most common species found in mountain meadows.  A combination of harsh winds and a late-growing season makes it hard for trees to survive. Herbaceous perennials use food stored in roots and underground stems to shoot up fast when the snow melts. New leaves take advantage of the long days of our short summers. It is amazing how such abundant biomass is produced each summer from bare ground.

Fern-leaf Lovage – Ligusticum filicinum – Tall 3-4’ plants hold up clusters of lacey white flowers. Leaves are finely dissected and skirt the stems to 2-3’. Abundant in montane parks and aspen groves. The shaggy thick fragrant roots have been used medicinally by Native Americans. C

Lovage is just one of several members of the Parsley or Carrot Family – Apiaceae –  seen on this trail. The tiny 5-parted flowers are held up in umbels. Umbels arise from a single point, like ribs to an umbrella. The dry fruits are schizocarps, which split in half. Often the fruits and/or foliage are fragrant. Leaves are usually dissected – think carrots and parsley. This family includes cumin, anise, dill, and several other fragrant herbs.  Many have been used medicinally.

Western Sweetroot – Osmorhiza occidentalis – is a 2-3’ tall member of the Parsley Family. The delicate umbels of tiny green-yellow flowers are now forming 1” elongated, licorice-flavored fruits—have a taste! Sweetroot is fruiting at the beginning of the trail, but flowering farther along. The compound leaves look like those of its relative celery.  Meadows and open forests. C

The ever popular Sticky Geranium – Geranium viscosissimum – is one of the most common and persistent flowers seen right now. Note the 5 pink petals with nectar guides converging on the center which attract many insects to pollinate the flowers. A bit later the dried fruits will catapult the seeds to new ground. The sticky hairs trap and can actually absorb nutrients from tiny insects. A

Silvery Lupine – Lupinus argenteus – is the common lupine of montane meadows and forests (vs. Silky Lupine – L. sericeus – of dry sage flats). A member of the Pea Family, it has stalks of many fragrant small blue pea-like flowers. The upright back of the flower, called the “banner”, is smooth (vs hairy in the Silky Lupine). Like all lupines, the leaves are palmately divided. Also, lupines can fix nitrogen with the aid of bacteria in their roots, and it is often the host for semi-parsitic paintbrushes. C

Blue Flax – Linum lewisii – 5-petaled flowers face up to capture the blue of the sky. The leaves are soft and narrow, alternately arranged along 1-2’ swaying stems. The long strong fibers of a European flax – L. usitatissimum – are used to make linen. This genus also supplies flax seed and linseed oil. C

Fern-leaf Lousewort – Pedicularis bracteosa – 3-4’ plants have spires of yellow, hooded flowers. The pinnately divided, roughly toothed leaves look fern-like. Fading at the start of the trail, it is just flowering at the end. Meadows and open forest. C

Colorado Columbine – Aquilegia coerulea – Elegant 5-parted flowers have flaring white sepals; the white tubular petals form 2”-long spurs trailing out the back; and many yellow anthers. Leaves are delicately dissected into 9 parts. These 24” plants are pollinated by moths and hummingbirds that can hover and extend their mouth parts deep into the spurs to reach nectar. In the process, the pollinator’s head/body is showered with pollen. When it visits another flower, the female sticky stamens tag the pollen. Consequently, 3 dry capsules with seeds will form. Moist montane. F

3. After a bit of forest, the trail goes along a drier slope:

Coiled Lousewort – Pedicularis contorta – grows along the trail edge and up the dry slope. This species rarely exceeds a foot in height, and often grows in groups of single-stemmed plants. The deeply divided leaves help in identifying it; compare to the more open, fern-like leaves of Bracted (or Fernleaf) Lousewort. Its creamy white flowers just fit the shape of particular pollinators, often bumblebees. A bee lands, vibrates its wings, and dislodges the pollen down the coiled “beak” onto its back.  At the next flower, the female stigma is designed to reach pollen stuck between the head and thorax—where the bee can’t reach it. A very precise operation. The divided leaves help in ID. Drier locations. F

Edible Valerian or Tobacco Root – Valeriana edulis – 3’ robust plants hold up candle-arbors of small white flowers, which then form fluffy fruits. A pair of 8-10” stem leaves are pinnately divided. The basal leaves are entire and elongate to 8-10”. The thick roots have a peculiar odor and taste, and to some noses stink like “sweaty socks”; however, it is nutritious sustenance with its large fleshy root, and it has been used by humans for food. F-C

Western Sweetvetch – Hedysarum occidentale – The magenta pea-like flowers dangle from 12-18” stems, which will mature into uniquely flattened segmented pods. The leaves are pinnately compound with 1.5” elongate leaflets which have obvious veins. Plants form bright, untidy clumps to 3’ tall. More farther down the trail. Montane meadows. O

4. At the end of this stretch where the trail curves sharply to the right,

a large Douglas fir – Pseudostuga menziesii – stands out on the ledge to the left. These trees are more drought tolerant than spruce and fir. Their thick rugged bark helps it withstand low-intensity fires frequent in drier habitats. It is hard to reach the branches here, but the needles are similar to fir—soft and flat, but with a bit of a stalk to them.  The dangling cones have distinctive “bracts” which some say look the tail and two back feet of a mouse diving for cover under each scale. O

As you come around the corner, several new flowers attract attention on an extensive dry south-facing slope:

Blue Penstemons or Beardtongues – Look for stalks of blue tubular flowers and opposite leaves. The flowers have 5 short sepals and 5 fused petals that form a tube that flares out at the end with a 3-lobed lower lip. Four male stamens are curled up inside at the top of the tube. A fifth sterile stamen, more or less straight, lies at the base of the flower, and has hairs at the tip – giving the name “beardtongue”— say ahh!.  Although penstemons are easy to ID to genus, species ID requires lots of fine details. We have identified these two for you:

Low – Penstemon humilis – small 8-12” tall, with deep blue flowers with a bit of pink at the base; dry slopes. O

Wasatch – Penstemon cyananthus – mid-sized plants average 18-24” tall; Dry to moist slopes. F

Paintbrushes – Castilleja spp. – can be confusing to identify in part because they hybridize and colors vary within a species. Many species are hemi-parasitic, their roots connect to roots of other plant species, such as lupines and sagebrush, and siphon extra nutrients to help them grow.

In general, the leaves alternate up the stems.  Flowers have a unique design: flowers have a colorful bract (shown to right) under each flower. Each flower has a colorful calyx tube which is lobed. It surrounds the galea = tube of fused petals. The stigma and anthers are protected inside. Here the stigma sticks out from the green and red galea.

Here are some photos and tips to help ID three common paintbrushes.

Wyoming Indian Paintbrush – Castilleja lineariifolia – The Wyoming state flower has very slender often narrowly lobed leaves. Bracts and fused sepals are also pointed and narrow, and provide the orange color we see here. The petals are green and form a the elongate “galea” which leans way out between slits of the calyx tube. Look for the stigma protruding at the tip. These tubular flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. Dry sites. F

Scarlet Indian Paintbrush – Castilleja miniata – (we saw many on the first meadow slope, and more later) – is more true red here. The flowers are bunched together at the tops of often-branching stems 1-3’ high. The bracts and sepals tend to be wide, unbranched, and pointed. Along streams and meadows, aspen and coniferous forests. F

Sulphur Indian Paintbrush – Castilleja sulphurea – The overall look of the flowers is pale creamy yellow. The galea is often tucked behind the calyx and bracts. Stems 8-22” often branched. Subalpine to Alpine. F 

Sulphur Buckwheat – Eriogonum umbellatlum – is also common in sageflats and dry slopes of the valley floor. The pale-yellow to white flower clusters have a collar of leaves on 12” naked stems, and then small oval leaves that form a mat on the ground. Later the flowers will turn a rosy pink, and the dry fruits will be eaten by many small birds, such as juncos.

Scarlet Gilia – Ipomopsis aggregata – Bright red 1” tubular flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. Hairy leaves are deeply dissected into linear segments that alternate up 1-3’ stems.  Note, at first glance it might remind you of the Wyoming Paintbrush but the flowers here are much more symmetrical in design. Meadows and sageflats. F-C

Silverleaf Phacelia – Phacelia hastata – is a lowly grayish plant with dingy blue flowers that is able to tolerate these dry rocky soils. At the end of the trail you will see its elegant relative. O

The Aster Family – Asteraceae – includes many familiar flowers. In this large family, many tiny flowers are arranged in “heads” surrounded by green bracts which together form what look like single flowers—a  “composite” flower. Flower heads may have showy “ray” flowers that look like petals and small “disc” flowers that cluster tightly together in the center. Some genera have only ray flowers, others only disc flowers.  Bracts and leaves are highly variable and help in ID. Fruits are achenes: a dry shell with only one seed inside. Think of your unshelled sunflower seeds. Some fruits are light and dispersed on a hairy “pappus” that floats them away; other achenes sit tight in the drying flower head until eaten by a bird or rodent.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot – Balsamorhiza sagittata – is a prime example of a composite flower: It has a large yellow sunflower-like flower head with yellow ray flowers around many disc flowers that bloom over time. Green bracts surround the head. Note the foot-long silvery arrow-shaped leaves. This species flowered abundantly in the valley over a month ago, and is still blooming at these higher elevations. You will see more later. F

Two Little Sunflowers – Helianthella spp. – are also seen here and there along the trail and are common elsewhere. The One-flowered Helianthella – H. uniflora – has alternate to opposite elongate oval leaves and typically 1 flower at the top of each 2-3’ stem. O

The Five-nerved Helianthella – H. quinquefolia – has larger heads 2” across which stand up up to 3-5’ and seem to stare right at you. The lower 6-8” leaves have 5 distinct veins. O

Comparatively, Tapertip Hawksbeard – Crepis acuminata – is not the most showy flower, but together its many small yellow flower-heads form a yellow bouquet on top of branching 12-18” stems. The flower-heads are like small dandelions with all “ray” flowers. Each head has only 5-10 ray flowers and the surrounding few bracts are smooth. Note the 8” grayish sword-shaped, leaves with sharp lobes are mostly at the bottom but also alternate up the stems. F on dry open slopes here and in sageflats.

As the trail bends around and there is more moisture, there are places with magnificent mixes of species. These are good “review” spots.

5 Continuing along the dry rocky slope: more “composites”

Dusty Maiden – Chaenactus douglassii – are grayish plants only 8-10” high. The whitish flower heads have only disc flowers, no ray flowers. The leaves are “pinnately” lobed and silvery hairy. The hairs help to reflect the intense sunlight and reduce evaporation, thus reducing water loss. R

Rocky Mountain Groundsel – Packera streptanthifolia – has bright yellow flower heads with several wide ray flowers, and a center of disc flowers. The basal and stem leaves are highly variable as is the height. It shows up here and there along these dry slopes. O

Rocky Mountain Goldenrod – Solidago multiradiata – has compact clusters of bright yellow-orange heads with many tiny ray flowers atop 1’ stems. Lower elongate leaves have stiff hairs along the edges of the petioles – a good ID character. Typically grows in dry rocky sites. O

Mountain Townsendia – Townsendia montana/alpigena – can be overlooked as it is a  very small plant that grows in 6” wide tufts and only 2-3” tall. This tiny aster-like plant has violet-blue flowers and yellow disc flowers. 1-2” leaves broaden toward the tip (obovate). Dry rocky, subalpine locations. R-O.

Another yellow composite that will soon be frequent along the trail: Houndstongue Hawkweed – Hierachium cynoglossoides – leaves are oblong-linear, with noticeably hairy stems—hairs stick straight out.

Plants will produce clusters of bright yellow ray flowers surrounded by blackish-hairy bracts. O

6. Just before you reach the access road and cell towers are two showy members of the Phlox Family.

The Phlox Family has fragrant tubular flowers with 5 flaring lobes. They are pollinated by long-tongued bees or butterflies that can perch on the wide petals and dip their mouthparts down to the bottom of the  tubes to reach their reward of nectar. Leaves are opposite on the stem.

Nuttall’s Gilia – Leptosiphon/Linanthus nuttalii – White very fragrant flowers cover foot-wide mounded plants. Leaves appear needle thin and whorled around the delicate 12” tall stems. Actually they are deeply dissected opposite leaves. Grows on rocky, usually sunny montane slopes. O, fading

Many-flowered Phlox – Phlox multiflora – A reminder of spring in the valley, mats of tubular white flowers waft a wonderful scent. Opposite, “awl-shaped” leaves are about 1” long forming dense mounds. Dry open places. O – most faded here.

After the Cell Towers:

The open meadow has many of the same flowers as before: Balsamroot, Flax, Edible Valerian.

Cinquefoils – Potentilla spp: – become more noticeable. Several cinquefoils are frequent along roadsides and meadows. They all have 5 green pointed sepals, 5 bright to pale-yellow to whitish petals, and compound leaves—some are pinnately compound, others palmately divided–found at the base of the plant and alternating up the stem. Most are very adaptive plants and they can hybridize: They can be confusing to ID! You don’t have to bother with the particular names—just “cinquefoil” is fine. For the avid, here are three common ones found along this trail.  

Tall (Sticky) Cinquefoil – Potentilla arguta –stands 2-3’ high, has “pinnately-divided” leaves at the base and up the stem, sticky hairs all over, and pale yellow (to white) flowers that are clustered fist-like at the ends of stiff upright stems.   F

Gland Cinquefoil – P. glandulosa – is very similar and at times hard to distinguish from Tall cinquefoil. However, the flowers tend to be on branches that are less stiffly upright. O

Slender Cinquefoil – Potentilla gracilis – has wide-spreading sprays of cheerful yellow flowers. The leaves are “palmately”-divided into 5-7 leaflets, mostly found at the base of the stem. This is a highly variable, common, and adaptable species. F  

7. Entering Palisades WSA:  Note the sign is posted on a fir tree.

You will continue through the small patch of spruce/ fir forest to more meadow with many of the same species as before. Here we add:

Orange Mountain Dandelion – Agoseris aurianticum – looks like a large orange dandelion with its many ray flowers at the top of 8-12” stalks surrounded by elongate basal leaves. O

You may see also the more common yellow Mountain Dandelion – Agoseris glauca. O

Thickleaf Groundsel – Senecio crassulus –  is another composite that can be common in mountain meadows ranging from 1-3’ tall. Bracts are all the same length, smooth, and black-tipped and surround the several strap-like yellow ray flowers and many disc flowers. The base of the elongate pointed leaves “clasp” the stem. The fruits will have a feathery white “pappus” which will help the seeds disperse in the air, like a dandelion. O

Tall Larkspur – Delphinium occidentale– is sending up 4-5’ spires of blue to white flowers. It is a lean relative to the profuse ornamental Delphinium/larkspur blooming in many Jackson Hole gardens right now. Look for its  relative Low Larkspur farther along to examine how the flowers work. O

Sugar Bowls – Clematis hirsutissima – is often nicknamed “Dr Seuss plant” for its clusters of unruly fluffy fruits on top of 2’ tall 3’ wide plants.

These fruits come after the early blooming flowers mature. Flowers have four, 1-2” long violet-blue sepals (there are no petals) that form an elongate, thickened, bell-shaped flower.

The large opposite leaves are dissected into elongate leaflets. Sugar Bowls are considered a harbinger of spring in the valley, yet it is blooming at end of the trail now!  O

8. Enter another large patch of old growth spruce/fir forest. Note the downed trees that remain intact for years due to the cold dry climate.  Little grows in the deep shade.  A large log serves as a handy place to rest, before you continue you up and on to more meadows!

9.  Got the blues! This meadow has a great selection of blue flowers:

Jessica Stickseed – Hackelia micrantha – looks like a tall for-get-me not. Delicate clusters of sky-blue flowers with yellow centers have much appeal. Plants grow to 3-4’ feet tall with 4-6” elongate leaves, mostly at base, but also alternating up the stem. However, its barbed fruits which stick to clothing and fur are less welcome. The fruits help spread the seeds down the trail. C

Low-Larkspur – Delphinium nuttallianum – Another plant that bloomed almost 2 months ago in the Valley, there are still patches here. The deep blue flowers have 5 flaring blue sepals—one of which forms a spur; 2 whitish petals streaked with nectar guides that stand up, 2 hairy petals that drape down. This array  guides pollinators into the flower past the mop of yellow anthers, to reach down to where there is a reward of nectar. They fly off with a dusting of pollen on their backs. If pollen is successfully transferred to another flower, 3 upright seed capsules will form. F

Mountain Bluebells – Mertensia ciliata– Dangles of pink to blue “bell” flowers at the tips of 3-4’ high arching branches. Oval 2-3” blue-green leaves alternate up the stems. Flower color goes from pink to blue when ready for pollinators. Found in moist meadows and seeps. LA.

Two blue aster-like species have begun to bloom along the trail.  They are actually Fleabane Daisies – Erigeron spp. –flowers have many blue to whitish narrow ray flowers and the bracts to their flower heads are pretty much all the same length. Keep an eye out for them.

Showy Fleabane – Erigeron speciosus – is probably the most common of the larger fleabanes in the area, growing at moderate and higher elevations. Many narrow ray flowers of a violet-blue color, ofen 2’ or more high. Leaves are shiny and they often have slightly wavy margins. O

Wandering (Subalpine) Daisy – Erigeron peregrinus – This showy daisy has light violet ray flowers that tend to be wider and larger than those of Showy Fleabane. They grow up to 2’ tall, and along this trail they favor the edges of forest where both sun and moisture is available. O

Late melting snow patch 100’ before the Lithium Trail. Wind has deposited the snow into a heap over the winter, and the deep shade of the forest keeps it from melting very early, so you can still find the first flowers of spring here.

Spring Beauty – Claytonia lanceolata – bloomed in the valley in April and is just now blooming as the snow melts here. R

Snow Buttercup – Ranunculus adoneus – has glossy yellow petals which reflect sunlight. Weak stems are about 6” high and the leaves are divided into delicate long segments. R 

10. Meadow near End of Trail:

Amidst the yellow stalks of Fern-leaf Lousewort is Mountain/Alpine Sorrel – Rumex paucifolius. Plants stand 1-1.5’ tall, with a cluster of 6-8” elongate leaves around the base and shorter leaves alternating up the stems. Leaves have a tangy flavor from oxalic acid. Flowers are very small but in numbers produce an intense reddish hue. Male and female flowers are on different plants. Different species of sorrels are used for food and/or medicine. LA

 Enjoy the view south into the heart of the Palisades WSA.

Looking across Mosquito Creek, you can see many of the area’s high peaks from Wolf Mountain to the south to Observation, Palisades, Starvation, and other high points to the west. The plant communities in the area include some that are not common in this part of Wyoming (curl-leaf mahogany; bigtooth maple). The area’s size, diversity, and beauty all contribute to its status as a candidate for wilderness.

11. To the summit of Mt. Elly:

Bear left up a short, steep slope through spruce and fir, and dying white bark pine trees.

White-bark pine – Pinus albicaulus – is a high-elevation species with 5 needles/cluster and tough 2-3” cones with large nutritious seeds. Clark’s Nutcrackers are able to dislodge them from the cones with their strong beaks and can stash 1000s of seeds each year, remembering where they placed them in holes on mountain sides. They retrieve this highly nutritious food to survive the winters. However, some seeds are left to sprout.  Both bird and pine depend on each other. Climate change is affecting the viability of this keystone species as pine bark beetles and pine blister rust have now spread into the warming high elevations. R

Silky Phacelia – Phacelia sericea – is tucked into the shade.  It is an elegant plant that stands up tall to 1-2 feet.  Stems are trimmed with coils of royal purple flowers, each with elongate, gold tipped anthers.  The leaves swirling around the base of the stem are neatly lobed. R

Dry south facing slope: Sagebrush is intermingled with several common species found in the valley below:

Along with Sulphur Buckwheat, Scarlet and Wyoming Paintbrushes, and Slender Cinquefoil, look for

Ball-headed Sandwort – Eregomone congesta – Needle-like leaves are paired up the 12” thin stems which together form delicate clumps. Each stem is topped with several ¼” white flowers, each with five sepals and petals, congested together. Dry sageflats and slopes. Here scattered on dry slopes. LA

Lance-leaved Stonecrop – Sedum lanceolatum – has small pudgy pointed leaves that alternate up the 4-8” stems or form rounded clusters at the base or axils. Flowers with 5 bright yellow petals. The succulent leaves along with a different metabolic pathway help them survive on rocky or desert sites. LA on rocky sites.

On the way back enjoy the abundance of the many different flowers and the large and small critters that depend upon them. Remember the freedom provided by the space and wildness of the Palisades Wilderness Study Area.

We welcome comments, corrections, and shared adventures.

Frances Clark and Susan Marsh, Teton Plants

Teton Plants is a chapter of the Wyoming Native Plant Society.  We are all volunteers who enjoy sharing the delight and intrigue of wild plants through field trips, lecture programs, and postings.  See past “What’s in Bloom” postings for more information on plants throughout the seasons.  To be placed on our email list or to get a list of the plants seen along this trail contact us at tetonplants@gmail.com

Also, contact Wyoming Wilderness Association for more on the Palisades Wilderness Study Area, and the other work they do.  WWA can also provide the list of plants on the trail.  https://www.wildwyo.org/

On Thursday, August 22, a friend and I took the JH Mountain Resort tram up to 10,400’ elevation for a hike down through Cody Bowl along the Rock Springs Loop trail*.

While at first glance the slopes appear barren,

we were delighted to find so many wildflowers – from early summer favorites to late season popups – blooming together. 

This spring snows were deep and melted late on slopes and basins in the irregular and spectacular topography of the mountains.  Consequently, there was an unexpected crescendo of bloom  at the end of a summer-long symphony of flowers. 

While we took the tram up and hiked only a few miles, others of you may be able to hike farther and higher to find additional locations still colorful with wildflowers.

Below is a showcase of flowers on Rendezvous Mountain with habitat and ID tidbits.  Avid or novice wildflower watcher, please enjoy!

The very top of the ridge in loose rocks and drying winds

A few Old-Man-of-the-Mountain – Hymenoxys grandiflora – still bloom among the gravelly soils. They indeed look like wizened sages of the alpine.

Mountain Dryad – Dryas octopetala – a member of the Rose Family which can fix its own nitrogen, inhabits these lean, exposed soils, growing in very low mats.  After its saucer-like yellow flowers are pollinated, they produce twisted clusters of fruits

which will fly off individually to find a place to germinate in time.

Gordon Ivesia – Ivesia gordonii – has tight heads of several yellow flowers that are beginning to fade.  The “pinnately-divided” leaves are at the base: the tiny, hairy leaflets branch off from the center of the leaf. This is also in the rose family.

 

D—! Yellow Composites:

Two spreading yellow composites can form large patches of yellow:

Shrubby Goldenweed – Haplopappus suffructicosus – is finishing bloom along the mountain shoulder. The whole plant is glandular and fragrant.  Wide-spreading flowers are at the tips of 1-2’ woody stems. The oblong 1-2” leaves alternate up the stem.  

Longleaf Arnica – Arnica longifolia – is just beginning to flower near the summit.  The largest of of our arnicas, these 2-2.5’ tall stems have 5-10 pairs of long opposite leaves, and several relatively small yellow flower heads at the top.

Largeleaf Arnicas form extensive colonies in rocky seeps and wet talus visible from the tram.

Two-leaf Groundsel – Packera/Senecio dimorphophylla – is a high-elevation species with succulent leaves, including at least one relatively large, slightly lobed leaf clasping the stem.  The “two-leaf” of the name indicates the great variety in leaf shapes that adds to ID woes.

It can be mistaken for another mostly lower-elevation Twisted-leaf groundsel – Packera/Senecio streptanthifolia. It has thinner leaves, longer stems to the flowers, and is generally less compact.  But they are confusing!

Several species familiar from lower elevations:

 

Common Yarrow – Achilea millefolium – is one of the most adaptable and widespread species growing not only within a full range of elevations, but also it spreads around the Northern Hemisphere.

False or Mountain Dandelion – Agoseris glauca var. dasyphyllum – grows to about 6-8” with large heads of ray flowers. This native is commonly seen in the sageflats in May.

Rocky Mountain Goldenrod – Solidago multiflora – grows from 4” to 18” high depending on elevation and associated conditions. The tiny flowerheads have about 10-20 ray flowers and the lower leaves have “ciliate” hairs on the petioles.

Three Fleabane Daisies and Asters look very similar. They tend to grow 1-2.5’ high with many oval leaves alternating the stem. They have blue flowers.  Turn over the flower-heads and look at the “bracts” that form the green protective structure around the base.  They are different!

Fleabane Daisies – Erigeron sp. – have narrow, equal-length bracts. 

Peregrine Daisy – E. peregrinus has wider ray flowers (they look like petals)

than Oregon Daisy – Erigeron speciosus (above).

Leafybracted Aster – Symphiotrichum foliaceum – has wide ray flowers (like Peregrine Daisy) but has broad leaf-like bracts. The low growing alpine variety is “apricus” if you are into the details.

This slope is covered with phlox-like Nuttall’s Leptosiphon – Leptosiphon/Linanthus nuttalii – with dashes of common Lewis’ Flax – Linum lewisii – which are also found at lower elevations.

On the same slope is a mix of blue flowers: flax and penstemon.

Thin-stem Penstemon – Penstemon attenuatus – seems to be one of the most common of the confusing beard-tongues.  I look for the glandular hairs on the flowers, acute sepals, and inside the smooth anthers spreading at 180 degree angle to help with ID.   In any case penstemons have opposite leaves, blue “irregular” flowers with curled up stamens along with a “beard’s-tongue” inside.

These subalpine species grow in patches with sufficient moisture and nutrients :

 

Death Camus – Zigadenus elegans – has beautiful whitish green flowers with heart-shaped yellow pools of nectar on the the 6 petals (technically here called tepals).

It has 6 stamens that stand around the center pistil which has 3 stigmas.  Flower parts in multiples of 3 is a good indication that it is in the Lily Family.  Compare it to your Easter Lily.

Coil-Beak Lousewort – Pedicularis contorta – has 1-foot+ stalks arrayed with white flowers that twist around their bee pollinators to position them for prescise fertilization. The lower leaves are pinnately divided, helping to differentiate it from the similar Curled Lousewort – P. racemosa – whose leaves are only toothed. 

Here Coil-beak Lousewort grows with Sulphur Paintbrush – Castilleja sulphurea. 

Bog/Explorer’s Gentian – Gentiana calycosa – greets you with blue goblets of flowers.

The interior lines and spots draw pollinators deep inside searching for nectar which is at the very bottom.  As a consequence, the pollinator rubs against the male anthers or female stigma (they are receptive at different times) effecting fertilization for new seeds to come.

 

Parry’s Catchfly – Silene parryi – has a swollen calyx decorated with elegant lines: They glow like Chinese lanterns. This alpine native is related to the common, weedy bladder campion – Silene latifolia – that pops up in our gardens.

Tucked into talus rock of Cody Bowl:

 

Moss Campion – Silene acaulis – is often the first alpine to bloom. This tightly growing, mounded “cushion plant” is still blooming and is also forming fruits. Plants a few inches across and an inch high can be dozens of years old. This is related to the much larger Parry’s Catchfly (see above).  Both are related to carnations!

Two miniature 2-4”-tall aster-like plants are readily confused (by me anyway!). They have single blue flowerheads at the top of short stems. The leaves are mostly clustered at the base:

Alpine Aster – Oreostema alpigenus – has deep-blue flowers and long leaves. Note the long tap root that has been unearthed.  These are very old plants.

Alpine Townsendia – Townsendia montana – has much shorter, spoon-shaped leaves.

American Thorowax – Bupleurum americanum  – is a member of the Parsley Family with an umbrella-like arrangement of flowers and fruits.

This species is unusual in having undivided leaves. It is common among the rocks here.

 

Tweedy’s Thistle – Cirsium tweedyi/eatonii – sprawls out of the rocks attracting a variety of pollinators. It is definitely one of the “good” thistles and is a native found only at high elevations.

 

Fringed Grass-of-Parnassia – Parnassia fimbriata – is worthy of a close look at the frilled petals, lobed yellow nectaries, sculpted pistil.  The oval leaves are also elegant.  These plants like moisture.

Netveined Willow – Salix reticulata – Willows are common and confusing in the alpine zones (and elsewhere!) This very low-growing species has small rounded leaves with distinctive veins (reticulate) making it is pretty easy to ID, I think…

Truly on the rocks:

 

Miraculously, several plants cling onto rock faces such as found along the Rock Springs Loop trail below Cody Bowl.

 

Brewer’s Cliffbrake Fern – Pellea breweri – was a new one for me.  Black wiry petioles (stipes) hold out leathery evergreen leaflets.

The black sori are protected by the folded leaf edges. Sori produce the spores that are key to reproduction in ferns.

The pale lavender flowers of Mountain Penstemon – Penstemon montanus – are fading, but are still a treat to see.  The plants are slightly woody and have toothed leaves (unusual for our WY species). The anthers are woolly.

 

Common Alumroot – Heurchera parvifolia – is a true rock lover! It is in the Saxifrage Family.  Saxi = rock

 

Telsonix/Boykenia – Telesonix heucheraformis thrives in a rock crevice of a large glacial erratic on the way down to Cody Bowl. You may be able to see some family resemblance with Alumroot.

 

Tufted Rockmat – Petrophyton caespitosum – forms a dense carpet draped over a ledge.

 

No matter how you look at these plants, one can appreciate their adaptability and tenacity, growing in this challenging terrain—rock, snow, abrasive winds, drought, intense UV light, not to mention a growing season of maybe a couple of months.  And consider the luck of a seed to land in the right spot in the first place and mature and reproduce throughout many years of such trials.

If you don’t get up to admire these floral athletes this year, they will be there next year to enjoy on your alpine adventures.

Frances Clark, Wilson, WY,  August 24, 2019

*Note: Check on the trail conditions through the JH Mountain Resort before taking this hike.  At thie time of writing, the summit-access road was closed for construction projects. High elevation and rocky trail can be difficult for some hikers. Saying that we, were able to reach safely a wonderful display of flowers from the trail!