Peas for Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend is usually near the peak of wildflower viewing on Green Mountain, and even though we're about a week behind normal there are lots of flowers just opening up.

There are several members of the pea family blooming now.  Most peas bloom early in the season and some have seeds that look like little pea pods.  The most prominent one this weekend is Drummonds Milkvetch (Astragalus drummondii).  Some people think it looks like a white Indian Paintbrush, with stalks of white flowers above hairy leaves.  Some others you'll see are Ground Plum (Astragalus crassicarpus), Early Purple Vetch (Astragalus shortianus) and American Vetch (Vicia americana).  

Groundplum

Drummonds Milkvetch

Early Purple Vetch

The Groundplum and Early Purple Vetch hug the ground, while the Drummonds stands tall.  

 

American Vetch

The American Vetch is a different species from the other three. If you look at the end of the leaflets there is a tendril that can it uses to grab onto other plants for support.

The other two peas are more showy and may be more familiar.  Golden Banner (Thermopsis divaricata) make a bright gold splash on the hillsides. They  won't be around much longer so enjoy them now.  But the Lupines (Lupinus caudatus) have just started opening up in the last few days.  Along with the penstemons that will be opening soon, they're one of the showiest of the big flowers on the mountain.  Enjoy the weekend!

Golden Banner

Silver Lupine 

A weekend in the hills

I spent the last weekend in Crested Butte and couldn't make it up on Green Mountain to see what's happening. On the other hand, it's interesting to compare the two areas. Through the Gunnison valley the trees are just greening up, so I was surprised to see a few wildflowers blooming in Crested Butte. Chiming Bells, Mountain Candy Tuft and a few buttercups were flowering in the woods. Along a creek were some marsh marigolds, whose original genus name, Psychrophilla, means "cold-lover".

I'll update on GM as soon as I can get up there.

A really Green Mountain

We've been getting plenty of moisture this Spring but finally it turned from snow to rain.  Warm temps this weekend will really spur growth.  The grass is already 4-6" tall, and since the snow smashed the old grass down, the mountain is truly looking green.

Only a couple new blooms this week, but one of them is a rare one.  I've only seen Spring Beauty (Claytonia rosea) one other time, but I found it blooming high on the mountain on the northwest part of the Halo trail.  The other place I found it was in a cool ravine, so it surprised me.  

Spring Beauty (Claytonia rosea)

The other flower that finally made an entrance is usually one of the first, and usually is blooming by mid-April.  Musineon divaricatum, or Musineon to its friends, is another member of the parsley family, like Salt and Pepper.  It's flowers are bright yellow but have the same umbel shape.  They don't grow very high--up to 6-8", but can add some color in the early Spring.  If you compare the two parsleys that are blooming you can see the similarities, especially in the leaves.  Even though they're related to herbs we eat, don't try them--members of the parsley family can be poisonous!

Musineon (Musineon divaricatum)

Spring at last

Finally the snows melted and the flowers are starting coming out.  We're a week or two behind "normal" and about 3 weeks behind last year, when we had a dry, hot Spring.  A few of the earliest bloomers are prolific-- Yellow Violets and Yellow Alyssum (Alyssum parviflorum), especially.  The alyssum has some of the tiniest flowers you'll see, about 1 mm wide.  It's not a native but blooms early and goes to seed, really not bothering the natives.  Like all members of the Mustard family (Brassicaceae), it has four petals.

Yellow Alyssum (Alyssum parviflorum)

Another bright flower that's just coming out is the Mountain Ball Cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii).  The one I saw, on the trail leading up from Utah Dr, is just starting to bloom.  Several others had buds, so catch them this weekend--they don't bloom for long!  There are two other cacti on Green Mountain, Prickly Pear and Hedgehog, but they won't be out for another month or so.

Mountain Ball Cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii)

One more flower that's easy to miss is the Wavyleaf Dandelion (Nothocalais cuspidata).  My friend CG told me about this one, blooming on the trail, right above the Florida Dr parking lot.  It looks like a regular old dandelion at first, but has a more golden color and the leaves are long, thin and pointed, not like the ragged leaves you see in the yard variety.

A few daisies are starting to come out, Cutleaf and Easter Daisy, and a couple vetches, Ground Plum and Early Purple Vetch, but there should be a lot more by next week.  A few Chiming Bells are blooming, too.  

Looks like a warm weekend coming up, the snow, rain and warm sun should make for a Green Mountain.  Get out and enjoy it!

Invaders

The native wildflowers are still trying to recover from the recent snows, but one non-native invader is already flowering.  Myrtle Spurge (Euphorbia myrcinites) used to be sold in nurseries because it's a drought-tolerant succulent that thrives in Colorado. Unfortunately, it is also poisonous and spreads quickly, reducing native grasses and food plants.  I've seen it blooming already in many gardens in Green Mountain.  It's probably been there for years, and continues to thrive.  It has been designated for eradication as a List A Noxious Weed.  Here's what the Department of Agriculture says about it:

"Myrtle spurge contains a toxic, milky sap which can cause severe skin irritations, including blistering. This plant is poisonous if ingested; causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Wearing gloves, long sleeves, shoes, and eye protection is highly recommended when in contact with myrtle spurge, as all plant parts are considered poisonous." 

It's not hard to remove when the soil is damp, and now's the time to do it, before it goes to seed!

Myrtle Spurge  (Euphorbia myrcinites)

Wet Trails

I didn't go out on the mountain this weekend. With all the snow (and more right now) I don't like to go on the soggy trails. Green Mountain has very thin soils so any knobby tires or boots deepen the trails. When the trails get rutted, then people braid them trying to find a dry path. The wider trails allow invasive plants to move in--things like knapweed--so that's why i try to keep the trails narrow.  It's better to visit a place like Roxborough Park on weekends like this. There the gravelly soil drains better. It'll be dry on Green Mountain soon. Maybe!

A few early bloomers

Slowly but surely the mountain is waking up, but with another snow, nothing's in a hurry.  On the north side of the mountain I saw several biscuit roots (Lomatium orientale) blooming.  Other than that only the violets near the Utah trailhead.  Now two plants are blooming.  Looks like cold weather again with some more moisture.  It'll just make June all the better!

Biscuit root is in the Apiaceae--Celery Family-- which you can tell if you look at the leaves.  In this picture the leaves are still unfolding. The flowers are grouped together in an umbel (like umbrella).  If you could zoom in enough you'd see that the individual flowers aren't open yet.  

If you're out this weekend, it's supposed to be warm, so you may some more flowers opening up.