Beeplant (Cleome serrulata)

Snow-on-the-mountain (Agaloma marginata)

Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium)



Smartweed (Perisicaria pensylvanica)

Cucumber (Echinocystis lobata)

I went out to a State Wildlife Area on the Republican River for work this past week and saw beeplant (Cleome serrulata) with a variety of pollinators doing their thing to the beeplants, buffalobur (Solanum rostratum), and snow-on-the-mountain (Agaloma marginata). At home, along an irrigation ditch and a drainageway, we saw a smartweed (Perisicaria pensylvanica) and mock cucumber (Echinocystis lobata). Rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) is blooming now, too.

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything because we were on vacation. Now that we're home, we are out scouting out the few flowers the drought has left for us. Today we saw buffalobur (Solanum rostratum) and evening primrose (Oenothera villosa) in bloom.



Evening primrose (Oenothera villosa)

Buffalobur (Solanum rostratum)

Gayfeather (Liatris punctata)

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

It's mid-July and the flowers are fading with the heat. I saw gayfeather (Liatris punctata)  and mullein (Verbascum thapsus) blooming this morning on Rattlesnake Ridge. Maybe I should change the name of this area to Bullsnake Ridge because I saw a dead on on the street adjacent to the ridge.

The only new plan I saw this weekend is teasel (Dipsacus laciniatus), an alein plant. The leaves below the flower head are joined together into a cup. I'm familiar with the teasel species that has lavender flowers, but this one is white. Weber says this species with the white flowers was recently discovered in the Denver area.



Diffuse knapweed (Acosta diffusa)

The Green Mountain Dog Park this morning was very dried up. The 100 degree heat has taken its toll. Diffuse knapweed (Acosta diffusa) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) are blooming.

 peavine (Lathrys latifolius)

Indian hemp (Apocynum sibiricum)

It's over 100 degrees outside and that has curtailed my long walks for a few days. The alien  peavine (Lathrys latifolius) is blooming everywhere. I also found a lot of Indian hemp (Apocynum sibiricum) blooming last week along Clear creek in Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge. Weber distinguishes this species from A. cannabinum, however USDA PLANTS database has them as the same thing. Because the leaves on the plants I observed did not have petioles, I went with A. sibiricum for identification here.

 Locoweed (Oxytropis lambertii)

Waxflower (Jamesia americana)

Spurless blue columbine (Aquilegia coeruela daileyae)

Cutleaf evening primrose (Oenothera coronopifolia)

Sunday afternoon, Fathers' Day, was a trip to Reynold's Ranch. A lot of the flowers are looking pretty tough right now, probably from the heat and wind. The spurless columbine (Aquilegia coeruela daileyae) is almost done blooming for this year. I only saw 2 of them. There used to be more. Other blooming plants were cutleaf evening primrose (Oenothera coronopifolia), waxflower (Jamesia americana), locoweed (Oxytropis lambertii), wild onion (Allium geyeri), and Polemonium foliosissimum. Other things I saw were bedstraw, a white upine, and blue-eyed grass.



Polemonium foliosissimum.

Winged buckwheat (Pterogonum alatum)

Buckwheat basal rosette

Iris missouriensis

Field of iris

One of Saturday's unkonwn plants is winged buckwheat (Eriogonum alatum or Pterogonum alatum). The basal rosette of leaves and small, yellow flowers were the keys to figuring it out. We took a drive up to South Park to escape the heat in the city. We saw field after field of wild iris (Iris missouriensis), carpeting the wet meadows with purple.

Skunkbush sumac (Rhus aromatica)

Bushy eriogonum (Eriogonum effusum)

wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota)

musk thistle (Cardus nutans) with ladybugs

Saturday morning dog walk to Rattlesnake Ridge showed us Bushy eriogonum (Eriogonum effusum) with its tiny, white flowers-the first time I've caught this plant in bloom. We also saw wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) and musk thistle (Cardus nutans) in full flower. The thistle has a lot of ladybugs on its flowers. Prickly pear (Opuntia macrorhiza) is about to start blooming. Skunkbush sumac (Rhus aromatica trilobata) has set its fruit now. There were a couple of unknown flowers that I need to identify before posting.

American bistort (Bistorta bistortoides)

Shooting star (Dodecatheon pulchellum)

Columbine (Aquilegia coerulea)

Last evening we took a drive up to Bailey and then made a stop at meyers Ranch on the way home. I saw some new bloomers in both places. Meyer's Ranch has shooting stars (Dodecatheon pulchellum), columbine (Aquilegia coerulea), and American bistort (Bistorta bistortoides) blooming now. You can see the leaf sheaths on the bistort, a characteristic of the Polygonaceae family to which it belongs.

The park in Bailey has meadow anemone (Anemonidium canadense), Phacelia alba, and scorpion weed (Phacelia heterophylla) sporting flowers.

Phacelia alba

Meadow anemone (Anemonidium canadense)

Scorpion weed (Phacelia heterophylla)



False indigo (Amorpha fruticosa)

Hoary alyssum (Berteroa incana)

Sunday afternoon trip to the Chatfield State Park dog ponds turned up false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) in bloom and attracting the attention of a lot of bees. Hoary alyssum (Berteroa incana) was also in full bloom. On the way home, I saw a couple of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia macrorhiza) blooming. I didn't get a picture today.


Rock cress (Boechera drummondii)

Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium montanum)

Skullcap (Scutellaria brittonii)

Miner's candle (Oreocarya virgata)

A Memorial Day visit to Reynolds Ranch Open Space yesterday afternoon resulted in a bunch of new flowers in bloom. Rock cress (Boechera drummondii), pussytoes (Antennaria sp.), Miner's candle (Oreocarya virgata), blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium montanum), skullcap (Scutellaria brittonii), paintbrush (Castilleja sp.),mountain parsley (Pseudocymopteris montanus), mouse-eared chickweed (cerastium strictum), candytuft (Noccaea montana), false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum stellatum), two different violets-one deep purple and one a light lavender color (Viola spp.), and one of my most favorite montane plants, blue-mist penstemon (Penstemon virens). One time, several years ago, I saw the east field at Reynolds covered in blue with this pretty little flower. It didn't take much imagination to see where the blue-mist common name originated.



Prickyl lettuce (Argemone polyanthemos)

Yucca glauca

We went to the Green Mountain dog park this morning. Nothing new from last time (May 12) except that the yucca (Yucca glauca) is flowering. I also saw prickly poppy (Argemone polyanthemos) in full bloom on a road cut, south facing, on the way home from the park.

Chiming bells (Mertensia longiflora)

Rock primrose (Androsace septentrionalis subumbellata)

 

Mountain parsley (Pseudocymopteris montanus)

Today we took a trip up over Hoosier Pass, elevation about 11,500'. I'm not 100% positive about most of the following bloonmers we saw, but here's my best guess: Potentilla (species unknown), candytuft (Noccaea montana), chiming bells (Mertensia longiflora), mountain parsley (Pseudocymopteris montanus), and rock primrose (Androsace septentrionalis subumbellata).

Boulder raspberry (Oreobatus deliciosus)

Mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus)

Starwort

Sunday afternoon Clear Creek Canyon-Boulder raspberry (Oreobatus deliciosus), mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), and starwort, species unknown (Stellaria sp.) are flowering. On our morning dog walk, I noticed flowers on Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia).

Sisymbrium altissimum

One additional plant from yesterday that we saw is tumble or Jim Hill mustard, Sisymbrium altissimum.

Scarlet gaura (Gaura coccinea)

Fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens)

Salsify (Tragopogon dubius major)

We saw these flowers in bloom today on the Green Mountain dog park. 

Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria genistifolia dalmatica)



Copper mallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)