Alpine Wildflower Guide Is a Continuing Collective Work in Progress and Serves As an Educational Tool in Assisting Alpine Wildflower Identification

Alpine Wildflowers

SPRiNG BEAUTY, ALPiNE CLOVER, ALPiNE OR SENECiO, FREMONT’S GROUNDSEL, WOOLLY iVESiA, GORDON’S POTENTiLLA, EARLY SAxiFRAGE, TUFTED LOUSEWORT, PARRY’S ANGELiCA, GRAY’S GENTiAN, ALPiNE GREEN Claytonia megarhiza WHiPROOT Senecio fremontii Senecio canus Ivesia gordonii Potentilla concinna Saxifraga caespitosa Pedicularis parryi Angelica grayi Frasera speciosa Trifolium desyphyllum DAiSY, LARGE-FLOWERED The Handy Dandy Erigeron grandiflorus Alpine Wildflower Alpine Shrubs Contributors

Rick Reavis Wildflower Festival Board Member Guide Rick has been exploring and identifying native and A PHOTO GUiDE TO ASSiST iN iDENTiFYiNG introduced plants around the Crested Butte area since WiLDFLOWERS AND SHRUBS BLOOMiNG NEAR 1984. Rick is a 27-year former business owner of an award- CRESTED BUTTE AND ABOVE TREE LiNE winning landscape development company. As an Associate (APPROxiMATELY 11,500' ELEVATiON) Professor at Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City, he spent several years teaching classes in plant identification, landscape maintenance and general The mission of the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival horticulture. is to advocate for the preservation and appreciation BUTTERCUP, ALPiNE OR BUTTERCUP, MACAULEY’S SUNFLOWER, ALPiNE HAWKSBEARD, DWARF AVENS, ALPiNE CiNqUEFOiL, VARiLEAF TWiNPOD, AVERY PEAK SiBBALDiA of wildflowers in the Gunnison Valley and adjacent SNOW Ranunculus macauleyi Hymenoxys grandiflora Crespis nana Geum rossii Potentilla diversifolia Physaria alpina Sibbaldia procumbens Vinnie Rossignol Field Biologist and Botanist Wilderness Areas through exploration, education Ranunculus adonus and identification of wildflowers and their role in our n BS Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University, 1965 unique environment. BiLBERRY, DWARF WiLLOW, ARCTiC n Gunnison County resident since 1977 We ask for and appreciate your respect by: Vaccinium cespitosum Salix arctica n Crested Butte Wildflower Festival Tour leader from n Being especially careful in the fragile Alpine zone 1991-2002 n Never picking ANY wildflowers n Field Biologist (Plants); US Forest Service and Bureau of n Keeping dogs on leash or under voice control Land Management, Gunnison, Colorado. Summer n Not trespassing on private property seasonal 1995-2011. n Driving at all posted speed limits

Margaret Reavis Editor and Proofreader THANK YOU AND HAVE FUN OUT THERE! Special Thanks to Our Photographers Thanks to the Town of Crested Butte for making this Without their artistry, knowledge and generosity, guide possible through grant support. this guide would not be a reality: Carol Cartwright, Kathy Darrow, Beth Hanson, Angie Kray, Rick Reavis, Crested Butte Wildflower Festival ARNiCA, RYDBERG’S ASTER, GOLDEN GROUNDSEL, ROCK GROUNDSEL, ALPiNE WALLFLOWER PARSLEY, ALPiNE NAiLWORT, ALPiNE DUSTY MAiDEN, ALPiNE and Mary Anne Tarr. No photos may be reproduced in P.O. Box 216 n Crested Butte, CO 81224 Arnica rydbergii Heterotheca pumila Senecio werneriifolius Senecio soldanella Erysimum capitatum Oreoxis alpina Paronychia pulvinata Chaenactis alpina DRYAD, MOUNTAiN WiLLOW, SNOW any form or means without written permission from (970) 349 –2571 n info@cbwildflower.com Dryas octopetala Salix reticulata nivalis these photographers. www.crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com About this Guide Alpine Wildflowers

The Handy Dandy Alpine Wildflower Guide is a continuing collective work in progress and serves as an educational tool in assisting alpine wildflower identification. Alpine wildflowers and shrubs are found above tree line, at approximately 11,500 feet in elevation, on alpine meadows, ridges and peaks. Typically, they bloom from late June through early August. For each plant, FORGET-ME-NOT, ALPiNE SKYPiLOT PENSTEMON, SCREE BLUEBELLS, ALPiNE ALPLiLY PENSTEMON, WHiPPLE’S CLOVER, DWARF ALPiNE CLOVER, PARRY’S DAiSY, BLACKHEADED PHLOx, ALPiNE VALERiAN, ALPiNE the regional common and botanical names Eritrichum aretioides Polemonium viscosum Penstemon harbourii Mertensia lanceolata Lloydia serotina Penstemon whippleanus Trifolium nanum Trifolium parryi Erigeron melanocephalus Phlox condensata Valeriana acutiloba are provided, using the most current taxonomy and references specific to the Crested Butte area.

n Plants are grouped by color n Flowers of certain plants may appear in more than one color n Flower color may contain varying shades n Look closely at leaf and flower shape when identifying plants

HAREBELL, ALPiNE PHACELiA, SiLKY SORREL, ALPiNE PRiMROSE, PARRY’S DAiSY, LARGE-FLOWERED DAiSY, ONE-FLOWER TOWNSENDiA, ROCKY SMELOWSKiA SAxiFRAGE, SNOWBALL SAxiFRAGE, SPOTTED References Campanula uniflora Phacelia sericea Oxyria digyna Primula parryi Erigeron grandiflorus Erigeron simplex MOUNTAiN Smelowskia calycina Saxifraga rhomboidea Saxifraga bronchialis Darrow, Katherine: Wild About Wildflowers; Townsendia rothrockii WildKat Publishing Co; Glendale, Arizona. 2006 Weber, William A.; Ronald C. Wittmann: Colorado Flora- Western Slope; University Press of Colorado; Boulder, Colorado. 2001 Nelson, R.A.; Handbook of Rocky Mountain Plants; Roberts Rinehart Publishers; Niwot, Colorado. 1992 Hartman, R.L., and B.E. Nelson; A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Colorado. 2001 Harris, J.G.; MW Harris: Plant Identification Terminology — An Illustrated Glossary; Spring Lake Publishing; Spring Lake, Utah Duft, J.F.; Moseley R.K.: Alpine Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains; Mountain Press Publishing Co.; Missoula, Montana. 1989 GENTiAN, TWiSTED GENTiAN, ROCKY KiTTENTAiL, ALPiNE GENTiAN, ARCTiC CAMPiON, MOSS DAiSY, CUTLEAF DAiSY, PiNNATE-LEAF CHiCKWEED, ALPiNE JASMiNE, DWARF ROCK SANDWORT, ARCTiC COLUMBiNE, COLORADO Wingate, Janet L.; Yeatts, Loraine: Alpine Flower Finder, The Gentianopsis barbellata MOUNTAiN Besseya alpina Gentiana algida Silene acaulis Erigeron compositus Erigeron pinnatisectus Cerastium beeringianum Androsace chamaejasme Arenaria obtusiloba Aquilegia coerulea Key to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers Found Above Tree line, Gentianopsis detonsa Second Edition; Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado. 2003