late summer

Showing 13–24 of 128 results

  • Artemisia tripartita / threetip sagebrush

    • evergreen shrub; branches in broom-like clusters
    • all parts covered with silvery/grey-green glandular hairs
    • leaves long and very deeply, very distinctly 3-lobed
    • flowers in spikes/racemes - all bits teeny, overall yellow-ish/reddish
    • often with mountain big sagebrush on nutrient poor soils

  • Bassia scoparia / burningbush

    • large, annual herb (forb)
    • leaves long-ish and narrow
    • inflorescence a highly branched spike with teeny green/yellow flowers
    • may form huge, invasive colonies
    • whole plant turns red in fall
    • a tumbleweed
    • especially in disturbed areas and wastelands in the Valley

  • Bromus inermis / smooth brome

    • clump forming grass but clonally spreading
    • erect, leafy
    • in winter, leaves curl up (like ribbon)
    • florescence is a nodding panicle, standing well above leaves
    • spikelets bronze/purple at maturity; anthers yellow

  • Campanula rotundifolia / American harebell

    • blue or blue-ish bell-shaped flower
    • fused petals with pointy ends make the bell
    • exudes white latex when wounded

  • Carduus nutans / musk thistle

    • quite large, very purple flower heads
    • spiny everything... leaves, stems, bracts
    • biennial - large rosette of nasty leaves in first year
    • dandelion-like fruit that flies away like the down of a thistle
    • disturbed lands... pastures, wastelands, roadsides, construction sites

  • Castilleja linariifolia / Wyoming Indian paintbrush

    • generally taller than most paintbrushes (up to 3 feet)
    • very thin leaves, seldom lobed, seldom hairy
    • red inflorescence bracts, may be lobed
    • flowers extend well beyond bracts
    • calyx is red and shorter than the corolla which is greenish yellow
    • rocky areas with sagebrush and conifer forests

  • Castilleja spp. / paintbrushes

    • vibrant, red (or yellow) inflorescence (bracts)
    • widespread, but confusing... five or more species in the area

  • Castilleja spp. / two yellow paintbrushes

    • look like Indian paintbrushes (which they are), but yellow
    • inflorescence bracts possibly lobed
    • height ranges from less than 8" to about 15"
    • subalpine, alpine and tundra habitats, in clumps or spread out
    • linear leaves without lobes, 3 prominent veins
    • red to maroon, hairy stems

  • Centaurea maculosa / spotted knapweed

    • "vibrant" pink flowers
    • dark tips on the sepals ("bud scales") - the "spotted" in the name
    • biennial - rosette of leaves in first year
    • officially a noxious weed

  • Chaenactis douglasii / Douglas dusty maiden

    • leaves "woolly" or hairy; intricately divided
    • leaf and lobe tips curled or twisted
    • flowering stems coated with "cobwebby" hairs
    • flower heads of white/pinkish tubular disk florets in a glandular cup
    • forked styles protrude past tubes
    • often in rocky areas and crevices

  • Chamerion angustifolium / fireweed

    • bright pink flowers on tall inflorescence (raceme)
    • flowers mature from bottom to top
    • four petals
    • spiral leaf arrangement - lance-shaped leaves have smooth edges
    • pod-like seed capsule releases seeds to the wind

  • Chenopodium album / lamb’s quarters

    • green, nobbly inflorescence - many nob-like flowers
    • leaves grey-green, more or less triangular
    • leaves may feel cool to the touch
    • widespread weed, especially in disturbed habitats

Showing 13–24 of 128 results