Natural History Wanderings

Today was exploring wildflowers along Bishop Creek in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. We drove from 395 to South Lake (approx. 22 miles). The Wildflowers don't start to appear until about 11 miles and the best flowers along the road were during the last few miles.

The highlight was a very short hike we did through a wildflower “garden”, which was a short spur to left of the main trail just above the parking area. This was probably the most flowery area we have seen during this trip. There were lots of Kelley's Lily, Monkshood, Red Paintbrush, Western Columbine, Sierra Rein-Orchid, Arrow-leafed Groundsel, and Ranger Buttons. Other flowers in this area included Green Rein Orchid, Fireweed, Single-stemmed Groundsel, Goldenrod, Slender Cinquefoil, Grass-of-Parnassus and Swamp Onion. The Lupine and Shooting Stars were pretty much finished.

The Bishop Creek Checklist (annotated) booklet by Jack and Pat Crother was very helpful with plant ID's. Click read more to see a detailed plant list from today.

Bishop Creek Plant List (Listed mainly from lowest elevation seen to highest) 7/19/16:

 

Heavenly Blue or Blue Mantle/ Eriastrum densifolium

Desert Sweet/Chamaebatiaria millefolium

Rabbitbrush/Chrysothamnus nauseous

Frosted or Sulphur Buckwheat/Eriogonum umbellatum

Blue Elderberry/Sambucus mexicana

Soda Straw/Angelica lineariloba

Desert Evening Primrose/Oenothera caespitosa

Long-leaved Paintbrush/Castilleja linarifolia

Inyo Lupine/Lupinus argenteus var. heteranthus

Erigeron or Aster unidentified

 

The next seven appeared just after 19 miles:

Apricot Mallow/Sphaeralcea ambigua

Bird's-foot Trefoil/Lotus corniculatus (naturalized)

Kelley's Lily/Lillium kelleyanum

Douglas's Pincushion/Chaenactis douglasii

Sierra Rein-orchid/Platanthera leucostachys

Arrow-leaf Groundsel/Senecio triangularis

Ranger's Buttons/Sphenosciadum capitellum

 

Slender Cinquefoil/Potentilla gracilis

Fireweed/Chamerion angustifolium

Rosy Everlasting/Antennaria corymbosa

Wild Rose/Rosa woodsii

Monkshood/Aconitum columbianum

Wild Iris/Iris missouriensis- past bloom

Oregon Sidalcea/Sidalcea oregano ssp. spicata

Spreading Dogbane/Apocynum androsaemfolium

Scarlet Gilia/ Ipomopsis aggregata

Naked Buckwheat/Eriogonum nudum

Creambush/Holodiscus microphyllus

Sticky Cinquefoil/Drymocallis glandulosa

Alum Root/Heuchera rubescens var. alpicola

Creek Monkeyflower/Mimulus tilingii

Sierra Gentian/Gentianopsis hoolopetala

LIttle Elephant Heads/Pedicularis attollens

Alpine Goldenrod/Solidago multiradiata

Labrador Tea/Rhododendron columbianum – past bloom

Green Rein-Orchid or Green Canyon Orchid/Planthera sparsiflora

Single-Stemmed Butterweed/Senecio integettimus

Swamp Onion/Allium validum

Grass-of-Parnassus/Parnassia californica

Brook Saxifrage/Saxifraga odontoloma

Creek Dogwood/Cornus sericea