Shanahan Ridge and Upper Bluestem trails

Later than previous years, wildflowers are starting to bloom along 4 mile loop around Shanahan Ridge, Mesa and Upper Bluestem trail. Most obvious and abundant are Spring Beauties along the North Fork Shanahan and Nuttal’s violets along the Upper Bluestem.

Pasque flower, Pulsatilla ludoviciana, Ranunculaceae (Buttercup) on South Fork Shanahan trail with a fly.

Wavyleaf dandilion Nothocalais cuspidata, Asteraceae (sunflower). Upper Bluestem trail

Spring beauty, Claytonia rosea, Portulacaceae (Purslane).

Mouse ear chickweed, Cerastium strictum, Alsinaceae (Chickweed)

Salt and pepper, Lomatium orientale, Apiaceae (Parsley)Kinnikinnick, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Ericaceae (Heath) Shanahan ridge 04082019

Nuttall’s Violet, Viola nuttalli, Violaceae (Violet)

Oregon grape, Mahonia repens, Berberidaceae (Barberry)

Jagged chickweed, Holosteum umbellatum, Caryophyllaceae (pink family), introduced species. Lower bluestem grazed area.

Echinocereus viridiflorus (Hen-and-Chickens), Cactaceae (Cactus). spines grow in lines along longitudinal ridges. Bluestem trail

turkey vulture

A Go-to South Facing Slope

Took a short hike from Gregory Canyon trail-head to Crown Rock and back.  Here are some early wildflowers and weeds I saw on the south facing slope to Crown Rock.

Nuttall’s Violet, Viola nuttalli, Violaceae (Violet). Native.

Oregon grape, Mahonia repens, Berberidaceae (Barberry) just starting to bloom. Native

Blue eyed mary, Collinsia parviflora, Scrophulariaceae (Figwort). Native

Small-flowered Alyssum, Alyssum parviflorum or Alyssum minus, Brassicaceae (Mustard). Weed.

RedstemFilaree or Stork’s Bill, Erodium cicutarium, Geraniaceae (Geranium). CO dept of Ag. List C noxious weed.

Myrtle spurge, Euphorbia myrsinites. CO Dept. of Ag. List A noxious weed. Picture on left shows male and female flowers. Picture on right shows typical growth.

Where is the flower? In this picture there are 4 yellow glands with little doggy ear-like protrusions. In the middle of the glands there is a single male flower. It is a very simplified flower consisting of a single anther. In this photo it appears brown.

Moth not Butterfly, but oddly very active during the day. These were fluttering all over the trail.  Epirrhoe plebeculata. A member of Carpet Moths Subfamily Larentiinae.

Snow on the north slope of Gregory Canyon and last year’s poison ivy berries.

Walden Ponds

Hazy air from fires in MT and elsewhere in the west made it hard to see birds in the distance. So as usual, I photographed the flowers. I found some species in wetlands areas that I’ve never seen before: jewelweed and false floxglove, pictured below. These weren’t in any of my go-to local flower guides.

Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis, Balsaminaceae (Balsam) Walden ponds 09052017

false foxglove, Agalinis sp., Orobanchaceae (broomrape), Walden ponds 09052017

Can’t wait to go back to look for birds again. Here is the snowy egret, a blue heron, an unknown-to-me flicker, and a downy woodpecker. Obviously, I am new to birding. I just got a Nikon Coolpix L340 20.2 MP Compact Digital Camera. Nothing super fancy, but it lets me get a photo of a bird with enough detail to attempt ID.

Here are other flowers found at Walden and Sawhill ponds. Click for slideshow and to see captions.

 

Scenery

painted lady butterfly

Brainard lake wildflowers

Elephant’s head, Pedicularis groenlandica, Scrophulariaceae (Figwort).  The individual spurred flowers in the spike look like elephant heads. Many of the flowers I saw on the Long lake trail were starting to dry up.

Indian paintbrush, Castilleja sp., Probably C. rhexiifolia (Rose Paintbrush), Orobanchaceae (Broomrape), Long lake trail

Globeflower, Trollius albiflorus, Ranunculaceae (Buttercup), Long lake trail. Next to a smaller buttercup.

Parry’s Primrose, Primula parryi, Primulaceae (Primrose), Long lake trail

Monument Plant, Frasera speciosa, Gentianaceae (Gentian), Red Rock lake

Yellow Stonecrop, Sedum lanceolatum, Crassulaceae (Stonecrop), Brainard Lake

Bistort, Bistorta bistortoides, Polygonaceae (buckwheat), Long lake trail. First picture with elephant heads, second picture with shooting stars.

Whipple’s Penstemon, Penstemon whippleanus, Scrophulariaceae (Figwort), Brainard Lake 07072017. Purple and white flowers.

Draba sp., maybe D. crassifolia (Snowbed Draba) Brassicaceae (mustard), Long lake trail. This is a TINY flower next to a full size pocket knife.

female flowers on a willow. Salix sp. Long lake trail

Golden banner, Thermopsis divaricarpa, Fabaceae (Pea), Red rock lake

Goldenrod, Solidago sp., probably S. simplex, Asteraceae (Sunflower) Brainard lake

Jacob’s ladder, Polemonium pulcherrimum, Polemoniaceae (Phlox), Long Lake.

purple aster, Brainard lake

Mountain Parsley, Pseudocymopterus montanus, Apiaceae (Parsley) Brainard lake

Hookedspur Violet, Viola adunca, Violaceae (Violet), Brainard lake

Pussytoes, Antennaria sp., First two photos look like A. rosea or A. marginata, Asteraceae (Sunflower) Brainard lake 07072017

Mountain gooseberry, Ribes montigenum, Grossulariaceae (Gooseberry)

Marsh marigold, Psychrophila leptosepala, Ranunculaceae (Buttercup), Brainard Lake 07072017

Monkshood, Aconitum columbianum, Helleboraceae (Hellebore)

Pygmy Bitterroot, Lewisia pygmaea, Portulacaceae (Purslane)

unknown Ericaceae (Heath) Brainard lake 07072017

butterfly – Fritillary family, Speyeria sp., Brainard lake 07072017

 

Dutch Creek Open Space

I have heard the segment of the Coal Creek trail between Aspen way and the Coal Creek golf course in Louisville called the Dutch Creek Open Space.  A few years ago, I remember the open area by Aspen way being seeded. It is now a grassy field with  native wildflower patches. Here is a photo of a native prickly poppy that was growing in that field.

Crested Prickly Poppy, Argemone polyanthemos, Papavaraceae (Poppy)

The field is lined with bindweed. Bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis, Convolvulaceae (Morning Glory), CO department of Agriculture Noxious weed list C;

…and Jim Hill Mustard, Sisymbrium altissimum, of the Brassicaceae (Mustard family) , an introduced species.

Down by the creek near the bench is Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, of the Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed family), at peak beauty!

Chicory, Cichorium intybus, Asteraceae (sunflower), a noxious weed on list C, blooming now.  (List C means that it is up to local jurisdictions to decide whether to suppress, control or eradicate the plants.)

Moth Mullein, Verbascum blattaria, Scrophulariaceae (Figwort), is a CO Dept of Ag List B Noxious weed and appears in white and yellow along the same segment of trail.

Moth Mullein, Verbascum blattaria, Scrophulariaceae (Figwort)

Musk thistle, Carduus nutans, Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense are both Asteraceae (Sunflower). Both  noxious weed list B, both peak bloom right now. The musk thistle is the big one, pictured on the top and bottom right. It has white outlines and spines on the leaves.

Our native snowberry, Symphoricarpos sp., Caprifloiaceae (honeysuckle) blooming along the creek.

White campion, Melandrium dioicum, Caryophyllaceae (Pink). Past its prime but a few flowers remain.

Birdsfoot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, Fabaceae (Pea).  The seed pods look like a bird’s foot, thus the common name.

USDA fact sheet Birdsfoot Trefoil

blanketflower, Gaillardia aristata, Asteraceae (Sunflower)

Oxeye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, Asteraceae (sunflower), CO list B noxious weed.

Crab spider on oxeye daisy

Royal Arch Trail

Chautauqua meadow is quite colorful along Bluebell road.  The picture below show the native Prairie Coneflower, Ratibida columnifera, and Perennial Sweetpea, Lathyrus latifolius, an escapted ornamental.  The sweetpea has pink and white varieties.

The most predominant wildflower along Bluebell road seemed to be the Silvery Lupine, Lupinus argenteus.

Under the pine trees on the way up to Royal arch there are several shrubs blooming with white flowers. Waxflower, Jamesia americana, Hydrangeaceae (Hydrangea); Ninebark, Physocarpus sp. probably rocky mountain ninebark, Physocarpus monogynus, Rosaceae (Rose); and Buckbrush, Ceanothus fendleri, Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn).

Some native purple flowers that should be easy to find along the trail right now: Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia, Campanulaceae (Bellflower); Parry Geranium, Geranium caespitosum, Geraniaceae (Geranium); blue mist penstemon, Penstemon virens, Scrophulariaceae (Figwort).

Siberian Peashrub, Caragana arborescens, Fabaceae (Pea), is an introduced species, that stands as tall as a person.

Cow parsnip, Heracleum maximum, near the creek bed. This is a very large plant in the Apiaceae (Parsley) family.

Houndstongue, Cynoglossum officinale, Boraginaceae (Borage), is a noxious weed that can be found in several areas along the trail. Look for the little purple and pink flowers on the same plant.

Northern Bedstraw, Galium septentrionale, and Stickywilly, Galium spurium are both in the Rubiaceae (Madder) family. Look close to see these tiny white flowers. You can see in the photo that the flowers aren’t as wide as a blade of grass.

Royal Arch

 

 

Rocky Mountain National Park wildflowers, shrubs, and bugs

A close up of Purple Fringe,  Phacelia sericea.  My friend Alice found this at the Alluvial fan.  It is also called purple pincushion — imagine the long stamens with yellow anthers are the pins. For this blog, I go with USDA plant database to chose between synonyms or to ID families, so I’ll call this a Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf). But one of my favorite websites, swcoloradowildflowers.com , puts this in the Borage family.

Purple Fringe,  Phacelia sericea . At the Alluvial fan.

Darn tick! Found this when I got home. The only tick in Rocky Mountain National Park is the Rocky Mountain wood tick. I believe this is a male. According to the fact sheet linked below, these can cause Colorado Tick Fever.

RMNP tick fact sheet

Pine Tiger Moth, Lophocampa ingens, photo credit to my friend Andrew.  ID through Bugguide.net. The caterpillars make “nests” that bind together the needles on the top of a  pine tree (or some other trees) and they feed on the needles. They pupate in early summer and moths emerge in July.  Here is information from CSU: Insects that feed on trees

Northern Fairy Candelabra, Androsace septentrionalis, Primulaceae (Primrose Family). I love the name of this tiny white flower. First photo is from Aluvial fan, second and third from Aspen Glen loop trail.

All the other cool stuff! Click on photos for slideshow with ID.

 

 

 

 

Anemone Trail

Lots of folks going to Mount Sanitas, but this trail had far fewer hikers. After the formal Anemone trail ends at the sign, there is a beautiful “social trail” that goes along the ridge above the Sunshine canyon trail and ends at a fence after about a mile.

This trail goes through some of the area burned during the fire on March 19 and we could smell the “campfire” smell and see the blackened trees and yucca that survived the fire.

 

Wildflowers! Click on photos for names and families.

 

Insects!