Archive for June, 2007
More Exciting Finds at Gordon Meadows
Yesterday (June 27), John Koenig and I went to Gordon Meadows. We had a terrific day and made some additions to the plant list (John took home a bunch of graminoids and may have more additions to the already extensive list from the Carex Project Report).
Note the greenish color and droopy tepals of Corallorhiza trifida
Our first discovery of the day came even before we got into the meadows. In the woods just before the trail intersection we found 2 stalks of a very funny looking coralroot. Of course I hoped it might be Corallorhiza trifida, but I’ve seen many odd coralroots over the years and without a good reference we couldn’t be sure and soon forgot about it. Looking at my (not very good) photos and ones on the web this morning, however, I would say it is a dead ringer. Especially the drooping lateral petals. What do you think?
We explored a little of the bit of meadow west of the trail first. The Menziesia was blooming nicely there. The ones in the woods were barely in bud. The Microseris borealis is still blooming beautifully there. Next we went into the main meadow.
It is gorgeous right now. Things are definitely farther along than when I first visited with Loren Russell on the same date in 2003. The camas is just finishing, but the Pedicularis groenlandica, Platanthera dilatata, and Polygonum bistortoides were outstanding. John showed me some of the many lovely graminoids and hopefully I’ll remember a couple. We went toward the northeast end of the meadow and relocated the Montia chamissoi. We found lots of it scattered through the area under the Carex aquatilis, mainly along the edges of small channels and where there was some open mud. Only a small amount was in bloom. On the way to the east meadow, we passed a little patch of Sisyrinchium, an addition to the list. Nearby, right where the trail and the meadow meet, we saw 2 stalks of a very pink Castilleja, one in bud, the other with green galeas just peaking out. Don’t know if that’s because it was fresh or if they’re really that short. It wasn’t slimy (villous) like I normally think of Castilleja miniata, but all the leaves were simple so it isn’t parviflora like I thought. The lobes are wider than miniata also. I’m looking at photos of some light pink Castilleja rhexifolia from my trip to Utah last year and, wow, they look REALLY similar. We looked around but couldn’t find any more. Perhaps in a few weeks they will be more evident. Read the rest of this entry »