Shunda to Columbia Icefields, Alberta Rockies in July

[cohan]

this is another sprint into the mountains, this time on July 15; after an unusually dry spring/summer over much of the province, we finally had rain in early July, and some of these spots were the wettest i had seen them..
as usual we started out early in the morning, breakfast and gassing up in the town where i work (rocky mountain house) and onwards..
pic 1 the view heading towards town, not far from home, mountains are still a distant, hazy dream..
pic 2 in the foothills with the mountains now a concrete thing, just ahead on the highway...
pic 3 first stop, near the Shunda viewpoint--a gravel forestry road winds up a hill/small mountain? giving views across a valley to the front range of the mountains; the actual viewpoint is some kilometres off the highway, but most of the view is blocked by campers and regrowing trees last time we were up there, so generally we dont bother, better views to be had halfway up in a clearing left from logging or fire; more plants there too
pics 4,5 the meadow slopes down away from the road, full of grasses and forbs--at this time, Castillejas, Lilium philadelphicum, Galium etc..not too different from what was flowering here at the same time..
pics 6-9 Delphinium glaucum
presumably; med tall plants--to chest height or more, in the first view you can see their spikes, some just in bud, spread over some distance..

[cohan]

still at site 1, Shunda..
1Lilium philadelphicum
there seemed to have been rain overnight, plus heavy dew, likely, maybe even frost
2Spiraea betulifolia
a low shrub, usually prob around 50-60cm when i have seen it; i seem to usually miss seeing this in flower...i think these are spent flowers on the way to fruiting..
3Castilleja
probably miniata, though i am not really attempting naming on these--as where i am, these come in a range of colours growing side by side..
4Agoseris glauca
hmm--do you think more dandelion or marigold?
5Campanula rotundifolia
everywhere; no close-ups at this site, but plenty to come later
6Zigadenus elegans
i believe this species was at every stage and site of the trip, from home to high elevations, though not right at the foot of the glacier, not an early coloniser; this one only in bud... with its purply glaucous stems, you dont expect the greenish flowers!
pics 7,8 two more views, the muddy side forestry road we parked on, halfway up to the viewpoint, and another view over the valley; i realise i didnt take any good shots of the mountain view, having been there and shot it before...lol..eyes in the mud the whole time

[cohan]

still on the shunda road, but back down the hill a bit towards the highway, where i had seen various flowers on the way up that i didnt find higher up..
a couple of peas--i really need better reference materials (not going to happen this year!) with one photo per plant in the book i have, and not every species, sometimes its just not possible to name something, even for some very common plants...
1,2 pea A
since id'd by lori as Hedysarum alpinum
this was common in roadsides and meadows etc from very low elevations on... i dont even have a genus guess for this one, as there is nothing similar in my book...lol, and i see i didnt get a good shot of foliage;
3,4 pea B Hedysarum sulphurescens? confirmed id
both of these species in the 40-80cm range, roughly
5,6 Lilium philadelphicum
the largest single plant i saw all day--some are no more than 15-20cm high, 40ish is common at lower elevations,with one or two flowers typical; this one was probably around 50-60cm at least, with 4 flowers
7 Antennaria?
another common plant i cant name; similar to antennaria, esp the flower stems, but larger in all respects, especially the leaves, which are in basal clusters rather than flat rosettes; common in roadsides in the foothills

[cohan]

back on the highway, and into the beginnings of the mountains;
next stop, as usual, is at a viewpoint overlooking Abraham Lake; there is an open grassy area between the highway and the drop off toward the lake..although this is a very windy area, and usually dry, i think it would naturally grow in with forest; perhaps it is kept clear to preserve the view, or perhaps trees just havent been able to grow in yet..
there are a few shrubs starting, rose and cornus--that was a surprise to see..

[cohan]

a lot of flowers for a small unvaried strip of soil!
1,2,3 Campanula rotundifolia
ubiquitous, from here well into the mountains, and with a tendency to grow in spots with a view
in the third shot, growing with one of the peas we will meet later...
4 Achillea
at least as omnipresent as the Campanula, in fact, i cant recall any site i have visited in Alberta that didnt have some (note: i havent been everywhere!); i recently realised there are several species, but havent quite sorted them all out by character or range..
5 Galium borealis
so common down here, i tend to overlook it, though it deserves attention; Stephen probably knows that the nutlets supposedly can be roasted and used to brew a drink like its cousin coffee!; less common as you get higher..
6 a nice little grouping of peas and composites
7 a couple of  peas doing a lovely impression of an impressionist painting! (we'll meet these again later)

[cohan]

now to the composites, and we see again where i need another book...lol
1,2,3 daisy A
cant quite peg this yellow one from what i see..maybe some Happlopappus? but not Erigeron aureus, doesnt look right to me, nor does Heterotheca villosa, and the Arnicas i have seen listed are not the right habitat..
4,5,6 Erigeron caespitosus?
flatter than the pic in my book, but this is a tough environment, though we see the plant in pic 5 happily soaking up leftover drops from earlier rain
7 Gaillardia? confirmed: G aristata
i wasnt totally happy with this id, either..better pics of this plant at another site..
8 Packera cana
one of those ex-Senecios, i guess, the silvery leaves a common feature in these dry places

[Lori S.]

Nice photos, Cohan.
In case you are interested... and I think you likely would be!  ... the first legume you showed is Hedysarum alpinum, which is sort of oddly named since it occurs all across the prairies (wide range through northern North America) but does not extend up into the high elevations.   I started perusing the Royer-Dickinson book the other day - very strange that they wouldn't picture it since it is so widespread and noticeable!  (Also, yikes - it would be extremely hard to identify many plants from that book!  As I mentioned some time ago, it's one of the many books that shows only one little bit of the plant in a photo... really hard to use.  It lists quite a few species, but without enough detail to actually distinguish similar ones.  I tried using it to key out an astragalus - very confusing.  )
Your second legume is indeed Hedysarum sulphurescens, and it's the one that occurs through the mountains - very common in some of the alpine/subalpine meadows.  It's the only yellow-cream hedysarum in Alberta.
Waiting to see more....  

[Lori S.]

Yes, definitely Gaillardia aristata, the only one we have here...

[cohan]

Nice photos, Cohan.
In case you are interested... and I think you likely would be!  ... the first legume you showed is Hedysarum alpinum, which is sort of oddly named since it occurs all across the prairies (wide range through northern North America) but does not extend up into the high elevations.   I started perusing the Royer-Dickinson book the other day - very strange that they wouldn't picture it since it is so widespread and noticeable!  (Also, yikes - it would be extremely hard to identify many plants from that book!  As I mentioned some time ago, it's one of the many books that shows only one little bit of the plant in a photo... really hard to use.  It lists quite a few species, but without enough detail to actually distinguish similar ones.  I tried using it to key out an astragalus - very confusing.  )
Your second legume is indeed Hedysarum sulphurescens, and it's the one that occurs through the mountains - very common in some of the alpine/subalpine meadows.  It's the only yellow-cream hedysarum in Alberta.
Waiting to see more....  

thanks lori--indeed, its clearly a book made for more casual use--not to criticise the book, i am just trying to use it for more than it was intended for! as you will see as we go along...lol..any further clarifications are very welcome! i know some of these things are very common plants, i just dont have the right reference, and havent had a chance to search online either... its not so bad with more distinct species, but with legumes and composites, its tricky!

[cohan]

grrr--i already typed up this instalment, and it didnt post! no doubt my internet connection acting up  

okay, redux: on to the peas!
1,2,3 Oxytropis maybe splendens? confirmed
not positive all 3 are the same--the third shot seems to have a more gracile and longer flower head, but that may mean nothing
4,5 Oxytropis sericea/monticola?
this is where i saw presumably O sericea in may, and i think its the same plants still blooming, though its supposed to be O monticola flowering in july; unfortunately i didnt count the leaflets
6,7 Oxytropis again? borealis var viscida?
this is one of my very favourites florally, though the foliage isnt as exciting as the really white/wooly species in pic 3
i realise i am just stabbing in the dark with some of these but the stabbing is educational in itself...lol

[Lori S.]

with legumes and composites, its tricky!

No argument there!!  
The photo labelled as "dappled peas" in the 3rd set is Hedysarum boreale (with what appears to be alfalfa in the background).  

[Lori S.]

Yes, Oxytropis splendens - note the way the leaves whorl around the stem (characteristic).

[cohan]

thanks lori  for confirmation on Gaillardia and on H boreale, which was also in my failed post, i see i forgot it in the re-do; its one species that seems clear enough...lol, and i also presumed that was alfalfa--there were a number of escaped forage legumes there, as there are here, of course--many with very pretty flowers, though usually uninteresting foliage..i'm not clear exactly what all the forage peas are, but here are several, plus the missing
1Hedysarum boreale
2-5 i THINK   these are all exotic escaped forage legumes, but couldnt swear to that, likely just several colour phases of the same thing? confirmed: Medicago sativa, and M sativa ssp falcata (yellow)

[Lori S.]

Yes, in the set immediately above this, the last 4 photos appear to be alfalfa (Medicago sativa), with the last, yellow one being ssp. falcata (or Medicago falcata) - note the 3 leaflets on all.

[cohan]

Yes, in the set immediately above this, the last 4 photos appear to be alfalfa (Medicago sativa), with the last, yellow one being ssp. falcata (or Medicago falcata) - note the 3 leaflets on all.

thanks, i assumed something similar, but never in a million years could i have id'd those from the photos in the Royer/Dickinson book!