late summer

  • Salix glauca / grayleaf willow

    Salix glauca / grayleaf willow

    • very low-growing shrub at high altitude (alpine/subalpine)
    • rounded to lance-shaped leaves; smooth below
    • large-ish catkin inflorescences
  • Sambucus nigra / common elderberry

    Sambucus nigra / common elderberry

    • shrub or small tree blooming in late spring
    • leaves opposite
    • pinnately compound with up to 9 leaflets with serrated edges
    • flowers are white, 5-petaled, in flat-topped clusters of clusters
    • "berries" are red or dark blue/black in August; often drooping when mature
  • Scrophularia lanceolate / lanceleaf figwort

    Scrophularia lanceolate / lanceleaf figwort

    • teeny, snapdragon-like flowers
    • flowers urn-shaped with yellow with red or green on the outside
    • flowers look like they aren't yet opened
    • flowers on elongated panicle at the top of a tall-ish plant
    • opposite leaves like stinging nettle without the stingers
    • up to 5 feet tall in full sun/partial shade
  • Scutellaria galericulata / marsh skullcap

    Scutellaria galericulata / marsh skullcap

    • riparian zones and wetlands
    • blue, trumpet shaped (legume) flowers; usually in pairs on same side of a stem
    • flowers not at the top of the stems
    • square stems, widely spaced opposite leaves; adjacent pairs at right angles
  • Sedum lanceolatum / lanceleaf stonecrop

    Sedum lanceolatum / lanceleaf stonecrop

    • bright yellow, star-shaped flowers (possible red tinge)
    • fleshy/succulent, small leaves (green, yellow or red)
    • open rocky outcrops, gravelly sites
    • drought tolerant
  • Senecio triangularis  / arrowleaf ragwort

    Senecio triangularis / arrowleaf ragwort

    • leafy stems with arrow-shaped, coarse-toothed leaves
    • often in large patches on moist soil
    • clusters of yellow flower heads, each with 8-ish untidy ray florets
    • numerous green involucral bracts, sometimes with black tips
    • largest leaves occur mid-stem
  • Silene latifolia / white campion

    Silene latifolia / white campion

    • white, 5-petaled flowers with distinctive inflated calyx (bladder)
    • flowers in clusters atop stems
    • whole plant densely hairy
    • widespread on alkaline soils (e.g. the Valley)
  • Sisymbrium altissimum / tumble mustard

    Sisymbrium altissimum / tumble mustard

    • inflorescence a raceme with yellow, teeny flowers
    • long, thin seed pods (siliques)
    • blooms throughout the spring and summer
    • shoots look like a bunch of sticks glued together
    • dries and breaks off, then tumbles
  • Solanum physalifolium / ground cherry nightshade

    Solanum physalifolium / ground cherry nightshade

    • flowers look like potato or tomato flowers
    • small white, 5 recurved petals
    • clump of yellow stamens protrude from flower
    • triangular leaves with wedge-shaped bases
    • usually sprawling on ground
  • Solidago canadensis / goldenrod

    Solidago canadensis / goldenrod

    • large sprays of yellow flowers in late summer and fall
    • often tall and in large colonies
    • lance-shaped, toothed leaves
    • mostly (but not always) in disturbed areas
  • Solidago missouriensis / Missouri goldenrod

    Solidago missouriensis / Missouri goldenrod

    • perennial herb, up to 40" tall
    • inflorescence is a branching panicle with many (≥200) yellow flower heads
    • involucres are ¼ long with 3 or 4 layers of narrow, pointed, hairless, yellow-green bracts
    • leaves are thin and lanceolate, upright and rigid with prominent midribs
    • upper leaves have pronounced but small teeth
  • Solidago multiradiata / alpine goldenrod

    Solidago multiradiata / alpine goldenrod

    • the only (?) goldenrod at alpine altitudes
    • clusters of 5-100 small, yellow composite flowers with a dozen-ish rays and 3 doz disc florets
    • medium green lance/spoon shaped leaves, bigger at base of the plants; toothed/hairy edges