exposed

Showing 13–24 of 56 results

  • 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

  • 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 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

  • Cercocarpus ledifolius / curl-leaf mountain mahogany

  • Cirsium scariosum / elk thistle

    • usually tall, quite prickly thistle with deeply lobed, spiny leaves
    • large, lavender (pink to purple) flowers hidden by the long leaves
    • covered with white hairs giving it a silvery look overall
    • in moist areas, in full sun

  • Collinsia parviflora / maiden blue-eyed Mary

    • inconspicuous
    • teeny blue and white flowers, singly or in small clusters
    • reddish stems and buds more visible than the flowers
    • wide variety of habitats, bare rocks to marshy fens

  • Corydalis aurea / scrambled eggs

    • prostrate herb, up to 15" tall
    • moist but well-drained soils, including on roadsides
    • yellow tubular flowers, with spurs
    • highly dissected leaves, blue-grey except when young
    • fruits are pod-like, resembling peas or beans

  • Crataegus douglasii / black hawthorn

    • slightly thorny shrub or small tree, to 30 feet
    • often forms thickets
    • broad leaves with toothed edges, clumped at ends of branches
    • clumps of white, globe-shaped flowers in spring; prominent black anthers
    • clumps of black "berries" in autumn

  • Crepis acuminata / tapertip hawksbeard

    • leaves (diagnostic) - long; many deep triangular, pointed lobes; upright, grey-green; milky sap
    • flowers - 5-10 rays, no disc florets; yellow; up to 70 per plant
    • dry, open places in foothills; commonly with sagebrush

  • Dactylis glomerata / orchardgrass

    • perennial bunchgrass
    • branched inflorescence with lowest branch well below the others
    • spikelets wedge-shaped, flattened in tight clusters
    • florets green to red/purple tinged; grey-brown when seeds mature
    • introduced and widespread, but not in wet areas

  • Delphinium bicolor / low larkspur

    • short plant with a spike of purple flowers
    • individual flowers have a pronounced spur out the back
    • leaves are few, round, deeply lobed, about the size of a quarter
    • widespread throughout the valley and on the hills
    • appears and blooms soon after snowmelt

  • Eremogene kingii / King’s sandwort

    • low-growing herb with long, thin basal leaf clusters
    • white, 5-petaled flowers, ca. 1/2 in across, in terminal clusters
    • 10 stamens, sometimes dark, sometimes white
    • at higher elevations on shallow soil

Showing 13–24 of 56 results