Natural History Wanderings

The Wildflowers of Rocky Mountain National Park blog has a new posting for Ouzel Falls in Wild Basin. Current blooms include

• Still Blooming…….the delicate Calypso Orchid (Calypso bulbosa) which is actually a tiny lady slipper
• Near Calypso Cascades along the trail was yet another Calypso Orchid (Calypso bulbosa)
• Just starting to bloom is the Spotted Coralroot (Corallorrhiza maculata), another member of the Orchid Family
• The Spotted Coralroot (Corallorrhiza maculata) flower
• Bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia), a member of the Mustard Family, can be found along the banks of moving water
• The Rocky Mountain Clematis (Clematis columbiana) vine is easily overlooked tangled among the undergrowth of open woods
• False Solomon Seal (Maianthemum racemosum) is a larger plant with more flowers on the terminal raceme than the Star Solomon Seal shown below
• The Star Solomon Seal (Maianthemum stellatum) is a more petite plant with infolded narrower leaves and fewer flowers than the False Solomon Seal above
• Twisted Stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius) flowers are often not visible at all, cleverly hidden under the leaves where they join the stem
• Common near water are Tall Chiming Bells (Mertensia ciliata)
• Blue tubular flowers of Tall Chiming Bells (Mertensia ciliata)
• Often found sharing a space near Tall Chiming Bells (Mertensia ciliata) in a wet environment is the very tall (to 3 feet) Arrowleaf Senecio (Senecio triangularis), whose sharp arrow-shaped leaves are characteristic
• Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra) has coarsely toothed leaflets and a terminal cluster of flowers
• The white flower head of Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra)
• The bright yellow flowers of Holly Grape (Mahonia repens) were extremely numerous along the lower half of the trail
• Near the water’s edge were a number of Mountain Ash (Sorbus scopulina) trees in bloom, more commonly recognized by their orange berries in the fall
• The Colorado Currant (Ribes laxiflorum) has clusters of pinkish flowers
• Ninebark (Physocarpus monogynus) is a common small shrub with leaves resembling currants and a cluster of beautiful creamy white flowers
• Seen in several wet locations along the trail was the Canada Violet (Viola canadensis), the leaves of which can be highly variable in shape
• A large cluster of Common Alumroot (Heuchera parvifolia) with its spike of tiny greenish-yellow flowers
• A grouping of unidentified Arnica (Arnica sp)
• The foliage and seedpods of Parry Milkvetch (Astragalus parryi) are covered in woolly hairs
• A Ragwort (Senecio sp, possibly wootonii) with a basal rosette of oval leaves and a stout tall stem topped by many yellow-rayed flowers
• The Wild Rose (Rosa woodsii) is common at the edge of woods, often right along trails
• The tiny flowers of Whiskbroom Parsley (Harbouria trachypleura) in heads atop thread-like foliage
• A large mat of Small-Leaved Pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta) with tiny rosettes of green (not grey-green) leaves
• A pale shade of Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja sp) likely indicates a hybridization of two other species
• Just beginning to open their yellow umbels above pointy green bracts are Sulphur Flowers (Eriogonum umbellatum)

See photos and older posts at:  Wildflowers of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Related articles

• Rocky Mts: Twin Sisters Wildflower Report 6/19/13 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
• Rocky Mt. Wildflowers: Gem Lake 6/29/13 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)