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Category Archives: trees and plants
Sunny Flowers
If you’ve been following this series of blog posts featuring the wildflowers blooming in our part of Colorado this July, you may have noticed a relative dearth of the classic and recognizable form commonly referred to as sunflowers. The local … Continue reading
Posted in summer, trees and plants, wildflowers
Tagged Asteraceae, Colorado wildflowers, composite flowers, sunflowers
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Penstemons
Thirty days ago, I was inspired to blog the bloom by a prolific little flower I called “the little purple penstemon that blooms earlier than most of the penstemons” (kindly identified as P. virens by Susan J. Tweit in the comments … Continue reading
Pioneers
Not all of our wildflowers insist on living “wild.” Pioneer plants are the first to colonize disturbed ground, including construction sites and burn areas. They help recover disturbed soil by stabilizing against erosion and shading tender seedlings. What makes them … Continue reading
Astragulus
Friends, the month of July is running out of days faster than I am running out of flowers to post. Here, then, is a sampling of the flowers from the Astragulus genus. By sharing them as a group, I’m able … Continue reading
Posted in summer, trees and plants, wildflowers
Tagged astragulus, Colorado wildflowers, locoweed, milkvetch
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Weedy Looking Not-Weeds
The conventional definition of a weed is a plant s growing where it’s not wanted. By that subjective measure, any of the twenty-six wildflowers featured on this blog over the past few weeks might qualify as a weed if it’s … Continue reading
Posted in summer, trees and plants, wildflowers
Tagged Colorado wildflowers, evening star, Mentelizia, prickly poppy, scorpionweed, weeds
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Yellowdot Saxifrage
This flower-a-day project has encouraged me to look closer at familiar blooms, but I’ve also found new ones, which has been great fun. I knew this plant, but not its flower. The foliage grows in mats of tightly clustered rosettes, … Continue reading
Yellow Owl-Clover
Charming little plants when in flower: like candles in the grass, with crayon-yellow flames. Orthocarpus luteus
Posted in summer, trees and plants, wildflowers
Tagged Colorado wildflowers, orthocarpus luteus, owl clover
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Nodding Onion
To my considerable relief, the nod of the Nodding Onion is distinctive, and I can assert with some confidence that this is Allium cernuum. And since I have not yet had occasion to use the word “umbel”–and who wouldn’t want … Continue reading
Posted in summer, trees and plants, wildflowers
Tagged allium cernuum, Colorado wildflowers, nodding onion, umbel
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Mariposa Lily
If Harebells are cute and Sugarbowl clematis is sweet, the word for this flower is elegant. Calochortus gunnisonii We’ve called these Sego lilies for two decades, but with this bloom-a-day-in-July project I’ve been cross-examining my assumptions while delving into a … Continue reading
Shorthorn Spurge
Euphorbia brachycera Although it resembles the pernicious invasive Leafy spurge, this little native is smaller and exhibits better manners. Some guides use the common name “Horned spurge,” but I think the “Shorthorn” version is more winsome. Up here, the plants … Continue reading
Posted in summer, trees and plants, wildflowers
Tagged Colorado wildflowers, Euphorbia brachycera, euphorbia esula, horned spurge, leafy spurge
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