Posts Tagged ‘Barbarea’
Glacier Lilies at Grasshopper Meadows
Starry glacier lilies in the meadow
American winter cress was abundant in a moist section of a lower meadow.
After seeing the very odd flowering habit of the glacier lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum) at Bristow Prairie a week before, I was anxious to see if this was happening elsewhere, so on May 3, I decided to head up to Grasshopper Meadows, which has a good complement of snowmelt species. There was no snow in sight on my way up, but the flowering season was still quite early. Scattered Trillium ovatum were in perfect bloom, and little white Anemone lyallii flowers were also here and there in both the woods and the meadows. As I entered the first grassy patch among the trees, I was able to spot some perfectly blooming turkey peas (Orogenia fusiformis), a very small, easily overlooked member of the carrot family (Apiaceae) that blooms as the snow is melting—when there is any! There were also a number of western springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata) in the meadows. Like those at Bristow Prairie, they didn’t seem as floriferous and showy as usual. Up on the ridge, I was also able to find a small patch of fading steer’s head (Dicentra uniflora). I usually see a lot more than that up there, so perhaps it wasn’t doing as well in the droughty conditions either. Other early bloomers included stream violet (Viola glabella), Baker’s violet (V. bakeri), Sierra sanicle (Sanicula graveolens), and American winter cress (Barbarea orthoceras). Read the rest of this entry »