On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
TKH
Colorado columbine (Aquilegia coerulea). I saw this first during my first long distance hike, the Colorado trail from Denver to Durango.
Narcissus sp. One of the few plants I know where the wild species looks pretty much like the cultivar (or I should say the cultivars I know, since I do not peruse plant catalogs)
Gentian (Gentiana sp.). In Bavaria they make a schnapps (Enzian) from the roots. Hmh!
What’s up tiger lily? Columbia tiger lily (Lilium columbianum)
Sierra Shootingstar (Dodecatheon jeffreyi)
Sky pilot or Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium sp.), said to grow only above 11 k ft in the Sierra, and that’s where I have seen it if at all
Sierra columbine (Aquilegia pubescens)
Indian paintbrush (Castilleja sp.). I have seen them all over the West in the mountains. I don’t know whether they are all the same species. The genus contains about 200 species, so for the casual observer it’s probably rather difficult to tell. On a few occasions I have encountered a white version, but not frequently enough to believe that it’s a different species rather than a variegated form.
California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
Sego lily (Calichortus nuttallii)
sab
I love those columbine.
BigJimSlade
Very nice set!
Betty
Love the wildflowers. So delicate and varied. Sego lily- crossword answer very often.
OzarkHillbilly
Thanx for the pics.
Victor Matheson
There is a reason that the Columbine is the state flower. It’s just a spectacular and instantly recognizable flower.
Trivia Man
State flower of utah us the Sego Lily. Legend says eating the roots was what saved the lives of the pioneers.
Quinerly
Great pictures. I put in 4 Columbine plants this year kinda under my apricot tree. SE corner (Santa Fe area). They are really healthy but no blooms yet. Thanks for posting your wonderful pictures.
TF79
Was just on the CT for a stretch last week – no columbines, but the wildflowers in general were great.
Albatrossity
Beautiful flowers, beautiful places. Thanks!
pieceofpeace
I love close-ups of the flowers, which I usually view only when leaning in for how they smell. Up close causes me to marvel at the intricity, differences and sameness of them.
Nature’s beyond grand…thank you for these lovely photos.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Thanks for the great pics. I got a couple of Colorado Columbines a few years ago (yellow cultivars) and they bloom all summer, altho they are not that fond of heat.
StringOnAStick
Ah, Gentians! There’s an Autumn Gentian in the high alpine country of Colorado that is one of the last things to bloom before the snow falls, white with purple speckles, the flower twice the size of the blue ones and the plant is tiny, part of the mat of alpine vegetation. I miss seeing that plant flower. I love all Gentians though, plus Sego lilies.
Native flower aficionados have tried for years to cultivate Sego lilies without much success; they are so gorgeous.
I think that narcissus is very much like the classic old naturalizing variety called Pheasants Eye.
Thanks so much for these! I drive my husband nuts with taking wildflower photos when we are hiking, and he wants to keep powering onward.
StringOnAStick
The Colorado high country often displays Indian Paintbrush in colours of orange, red, near magenta, chartreuse, white, yellow; all in the same general area. Why there’s such a colour range is not something I can answer but the orange one tends to be lower elevation and drier locations; the other colours in higher and wetter areas.
Madeleine
Such a contrast with yesterday’s cacti. I enjoyed the bright (apparent) robustness of the cacti, and today the delicacy of the various flowers.
And thank you for giving respite from the debate coverage and response.
Yutsano
Alpine flowers are amazingly hearty in the mountains. You get them into the city and it’s a different story. But I think viewing them in their native habitats is really the best way of looking at these wonderful blessings of creation. Thank you so much for the pictures!
TKH
@Madeleine: I know what you mean. The scheduling is Water Girl’s genius, I merely push the files out into the ether.
I will be taking a vacation from doom and head for the Sierra on Sunday to look at a new (to me) section of my backcountry garden.
Noli bastardes carborundum!