disturbed

  • Medicago sativa / alfalfa

    Medicago sativa / alfalfa

    • escaped forage plant
    • bright purple flowers in dense clusters
    • pea-like flowers with broad upper petal, 2 small laterals, keel
    • compound leaves with 3 leaflets, the central one extended on a short stalk
    • disturbed sites - roadsides, full sun
  • Melilotus spp / sweetclover

    Melilotus spp / sweetclover

    • yellow or white, floppy, tubular flowers in long-ish clusters (racemes)
    • 3 small, pointy leaflets with petioles
    • rangy, unkempt branching
    • roadsides, waste places and sometimes in fields, grasslands
  • Mentha canadensis / American cornmint

    Mentha canadensis / American cornmint

    • crushed leaves smell like peppermint
    • clusters of teeny white-blue-pink flowers in the axils of stem leaves
    • square stems, lance-shaped leaves
    • shaded, moist areas
    • may form large clones
  • Oenothera villosa / hairy evening primrose

    Oenothera villosa / hairy evening primrose

    • yellow flowers on tall stalks, several flowers in a cluster
    • 4 petals; 8 stamens; large, 4 part stigma
    • hairy - often reddish -  stems; hairy leaves
    • lance-shaped leaves, larger on stem than basal
    • disturbed areas and stream banks
  • Opuntia polyacantha / starvation cactus

    Opuntia polyacantha / starvation cactus

    • yellow or peach, complex, many-petaled flowers
    • large globose, pointed buds with reddish scales
    • cactus pads with long or short spines and nasty glochids
  • Oxybasis glauca / oak-leaved goosefoot

    Oxybasis glauca / oak-leaved goosefoot

    • typically prostrate and small, apart from other plants
    • mudflats and other drying wet areas
    • small, blue-green, small-lobed leaves; often w/ reddish stems
    • teeny clusters of teeny yellow flowers
    • leaves feel cool and damp due to glandular hairs on lower surface
  • Oxytropis sericea / white-point vetch

    Oxytropis sericea / white-point vetch

    • white "pea" flowers in clusters of up to 25
    • banner petal white with purple/blue veins
    • hairy, pinnately compound leaves, all basal
    • disturbed areas, especially exposed to cold, drought, high light etc.
    • pretty, but toxic to grazing animals
  • Penstemon palmeri / Palmer's penstemon

    Penstemon palmeri / Palmer’s penstemon

    • very tall, exposed
    • pink flowers with rose/grape scent
    • flowers clumped on one side of stem in groups of 4-5
    • red "guidelines" (bloody fangs) on lower petals
    • stem leaves opposite, clasping, like little boats
  • Phacelia hastata / silverleaf scorpionweed

    Phacelia hastata / silverleaf scorpionweed

    • flowers - dull white-ish/purple-ish, numerous in short, compact, coiled clusters
    • stamens extend well past petals
    • leaves - basal with prominent veins; usually covered with silvery hairs; usually entire
    • multiple flowering stems on a single plant
    • in a variety of habitats
  • Phalaris arundinacea / reed canarygrass

    Phalaris arundinacea / reed canarygrass

    • large, coarse, erect grass
    • long, flat blades with pointy tips...  from base
    • distinct ligule—membranous and long
    • large but compact inflorescences (panicles)
    • often in dense monocultures, e.g. on river banks
  • Pinus albicaulis / whitebark pine

    Pinus albicaulis / whitebark pine

    • high altitude - subalpine to alpine; cold, windy sites
    • five needles in tight fasicles
    • brown to purple cones at top of tree; cones don't open
    • scaly grayish bark
  • Plantago major / broadleaf plantain

    Plantago major / broadleaf plantain