nutrient poor soils

Showing 49–60 of 66 results

  • 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

  • Pinus contorta / lodgepole pine

    • evergreen conifer
    • needles in groups (fascicles) of 2
    • lopsided cones, (mostly) remain on tree when mature
    • rounded crown; orangey-brown scaly bark

  • Pinus flexilis / limber pine

    • high elevation, rocky or talus, dry, high-stress habitat
    • often - stunted and deformed by wind
    • highly flexible branches
    • needles in bundles (fascicles) of 5
    • often - semi-rotted cones on ground below

  • Platanthera dilatata / white bog orchid

    • dense cluster of bright white, clove or cinnamon scented flowers
    • 2 wing-like sepals, a hood, and a lower lip with a spur
    • 3-6 principle leaves... alternate, lance-shaped
    • in boggy wet areas

  • Platanthera huronensis / green bog orchid

    • usually in bogs, fens, wetlands
    • up to two feet tall, but often shorter
    • thick, nearly vertical leaves with parallel veins (i.e. grass-like)
    • up to 75 very small flowers per stem (raceme)
    • flowers -light green to greenish-white; two petals, three sepals, a lip and club-like spur
    • lip is not pouch-like

  • Polygonum aviculare / prostrate knotweed

    • long, prostrate stems around a central point
    • copious red-edged white flowers
    • small green leaves
    • along roadsides, parking lots and wherever trampling occurs
    • an ugly weed you'll see on most of your walks around town

  • Potentilla fruticosa / shrubby cinquefoil

    • low, deciduous, shrub; wetlands and riparian zones
    • yellow buttercup-like flowers with 5 leaflets, often in clusters
    • blooms from June until frost
    • pinnately compound leaves, typically with 5 leaflets
    • fruit (achene) remains into winter

  • Primula parryi / Parry’s primrose

    • striking, bright magenta (or pink) flowers with yellow centers, 5 petals
    • 3 to 30 flowers per stalk
    • brilliant green foliage as a rosette
    • foliage releases horrible smell with the slightest touch
    • typically at higher altitudes in wet places

  • Pseudotsuga menziesii / Douglas fir

    • persistent cones with distinctive 3-pronged, "mouse tail", bracts
    • semi-pointy, but not stiff or sharp, single needles
    • needles attached to twigs by petioles (no pegs)
    • oval leaf scars
    • twig buds are pointy, "lustrous" brown

  • Rumex acetosella / sheep sorrel

    • long, vertical inflorescences... not compact or well "organized"
    • female plants with red/maroon flowers; males with green/white flowers
    • especially visible when seeds are ripe... red
    • basal rosette of arrowhead shaped leaves
    • disturbed areas, wastelands, poor sites

  • Rumex crispus / curly dock

    • rather large, lance-shaped leaves
    • curly leaf margins, like crisped bacon or "crinkly-wavy"
    • tall flowering stalks with many, many small yellow/green-ish flowers
    • fruits are just like the flowers but deep red
    • widespread and very much a weed

  • Senecio integerrimus / tall western groundsel

    • early spring to early summer, often with larkspur
    • bright yellow flower head with several, disheveled looking blossoms
    • only 5-13 ray florets (petals)
    • cobwebby hairy basal leaves, especially when young
    • seasonally moist areas, from sagebrush to higher parts of the fen

Showing 49–60 of 66 results