Wildflower Report

Weekly Wildflower Report
for week of July 2, 2009
by Kathy Darrow

Welcome to all wildflower enthusiasts who have come from near and far to celebrate the glory of our mountain flora this coming week! Although we’ve had an especially cold and rainy spring, this is warming up to be a spectacular wildflower season. Hot pink Elephantella, found in wet meadows throughout the valley, is my top pick for stunning displays this week. The lush swales along Gothic Road and recreation path to Mt. Crested Butte are a photographer’s dream, with acres of Elephantella blooming at the foot of Crested Butte Mountain.

Wildflower diva Don Hempel and Red Lady Dana Bradley both report Shooting Stars (Dodecatheon pulchellum) blazing in wet places and along streamsides. The upper section of Judd Falls trail above Gothic sports the mother lode of these magenta–colored primroses blooming in wetlands in small groves of aspen. You can also cruise just out of town on the Lower Loop to find these especially sweet wildflowers, named in Latin for their stunning beauty (“pulchellum”) that grants them protection by a dozen gods and goddesses (“Dodecatheon”).

Splain’s Gulch is one place you can experience spring all over again, where late-lying snowfields melt slowly in the shade of spruce trees. Trickling melt waters feed waves of Glacier Lilies, Globe Flowers and Marsh Marigolds. Dwarf Larkspur and Ballhead Waterleaf lead the way up to the high marshes near Lily Lake where drier meadows are a tapestry of purple violets, white candytuft mustard and yellow alpine parsley.

If you are looking for the full glory of summer, head for lower elevation south-facing slopes like the Brush Creek Trail a few miles south of town. Lupines, Mule Ears, Blue Flax, Wild Geraniums and Scarlet Gilia are at their peak, with Tall Larkspur ready to bust out any day now. Although this is not a “boom” year for Monument Plant, you’ll also find a few of these towering gentians blooming in meadows out there. In the aspen forest, tall Louseworts, cousins of the wetland loving Elephantella, are one of the dominant plants in the understory.

Orchid lovers are reminded to please park along Cement Creek Road if you are hunting Calypsos on the Pioneer Trail. There is no public parking at Pioneer Cabins or the Summer Home Group. However, there is lots of parking at the Nordic Center in Crested Butte where the trailhead to Green Lake will take you up through pine forests that orchids love as well. Look also for saprophytic Coralroot orchids along the way.

Mushroom lovers have also been bragging up some humongous puff balls this season. Although I haven’t been privileged to learn the exact locations of these soccer ball sized edible fungi, I suspect there is a carefully guarded secret meadow somewhere nearby where they grow. I’ve also received reports of morels in nearby forests, portending another prolific year for mycologists.

Kathy Darrow is a natural history writer with a special interest in botany, and author of the book “Wild About Wildflowers: Extreme Botanizing in Crested Butte”. To contribute your special wildflower sightings to the Weekly Wildflower Report, e-mail Kathy at wild_kat@cox.net.