Plants in the Valley

Showing 229–240 of 327 results

  • Physaria spp / twinpods

    • yet another very small yellow crucifer/brassica
    • densely hairy leaves, tapering to a petiole
    • bloom in early spring on minimal soil in rocky places
    • fruit characteristics TBPL

  • Picea engelmannii / Engelmann spruce

    • common, especially in mixed conifer forests
    • canopy a narrow spire in young trees, cylindrical in older trees
    • sharp, pointy needles, generally "swept" toward branch tips
    • needles attached to twigs with woody pegs (sterigmata)
    • pendant cones less than 2.5 inches long; thin scales, wavy margins

  • Picea pungens / Colorado blue spruce

    • conical, layered crown; whorled branches
    • frequent epicormic branches; "woolly" look
    • stout, yellow-brown twigs with sterigmata (woody pegs)
    • cones greater than 2.5" long
    • cone scales stiff at base, diamond shaped, not wavy at tips
    • in mixed conifer forests

  • 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

  • Plantago major / broadleaf plantain

  • Plantanthera unalascensis / slender-spire orchid

    • teeny, green flowers, well-separated, not spiraled
    • a "tall, thin, green nothing"
    • basal leaves prostrate, but not appressed to the ground
    • leaves often wither before pollination occurs
    • found in many different habitats

  • 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

  • Poa bulbosa / bulbous meadow-grass

    • short, tuft-forming grass
    • funny-looking flower stalks... having bulblets instead of florets
    • doesn't produce pollen or seeds

  • Polemonium occidentale / western Jacob’s ladder

    • brilliantly blue flowers with bright yellow anthers, in clusters
    • pinnately compound leaves with up to 27 narrow, lance-shaped leaflets
    • most leaves on separate stems from the flowers
    • usually in wetlands

Showing 229–240 of 327 results