Sandia Mountain Wildflowers on Cienega Canyon and Tecolote Trails in June, 2015

Another volunteer Forestry Service Wildflower Guide, Mari, and I scouted two Sandia Mountain Trails this week.  We first scouted the trail by Cienega Spring in Cienega Canyon.  Never saw this area so green as we did Thursday, June 11th.  Joan accompanied us as we looked at what was growing and tried to identify those flowers we were unsure of.

Oregon Grape Holly/Creeping Mahonia Mahonia repens - Barberry Family

Rocky Mountain Penstemon Pentstemon strictus - Figwort Family

Golden Smoke Corydalis aureus - Fumitory Family 

New Mexico Scorpion Weed Phacelia neomexicana - Waterleaf Family

Is it Currant or Gooseberry?

It has thorns so it is a Trumpet Gooseberry Ribes leptanthum - Gooseberry Family

Horehound Marrubium vulgare - Mint Family

Crowfoot Buttercup - Ranunculus inamoensis - Buttercup Family

Joan checking out all the water from Cienega Spring,  No Bog Violets blooming yet.

Tuber Starwort Stellaria jamesiana - Pink Family

Bladder Senna  Colutea arborescens - Pea Family

About 11AM, we drove to the higher elevation of Tecolote Trail (once signed as Dry Camp Picnic Ground -  turn off road to the right at Mile Marker 6) to find these flowers at 7400 ft. elevation.

Scarlet Gilia/Skyrocket Ipomopsis aggregata - Phlox Family

Spreading Fleabane Erigeron divergens - Aster Family

Joan on the Tecolote Trail

Mari and Vicki at Tecolote Peak

Leather Flower Clematis bigelovii - Buttercup Family

James Pentstemon Penstemon jamesii - Figwort Family

Stemless Evening Primrose Oenothera caespitosa - Evenng Primrose Family

Green-flowered Hedgehog Cactus/Green Pitaya  Echinocereus viridiflorus - Cactus Famil

Leather Flowers grow on vines among the shrubs

Foothills Paintbrush Castilleja integra (Figwort Family) are everywhere along the rocky meadow trail