I'm a volunteer for the Forest Service leading
Wildflower Interpretive Walks in the
Cibola National Forest of the nearby
Sandia Mountains during the summer. I enjoy meeting people who come from all over to enjoy the ephemeral beauty of nature's wildflower parade in the Sandia Mountains. Yesterday, I led my last wildflower walk for the summer. We went to the
Sandia Crest and walked the
South Crest Trail along the western cliff of the mountain. Another volunteer will lead the last walk of the summer August 25. They will meet at 9AM at the
Sandia Ranger Station in Tijeras and depart for a new trail, car-pooling encouraged.
I scouted the South Crest Trail on the day before the walk. We had a huge torrent of rain the night before. At 8:00 in the morning, many animals were out and about enjoying the cool wetness of the morning. I saw a couple of
mule deer foraging along the road.
Abert Squirrels and
Chipmunks scurried across the
Sandia Crest Highway as I drove to the Crest at 10, 678 ft. elevation.
The cloudy skies were cooler, the temperature was in the high 50's and I regretted not bringing a light jacket. It was refreshing, though, to have cooler weather. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Late summer sees an abundance of aster. A few Canada Violets, Red Columbine, Jacob's Ladder and Sweet Cicely still bloomed in the shady spots under the forest canopy. But the real performers right now included Parsley, Sage, Coralbells and Groundsel. The Sandia Coralbells are a New Mexico Native and rare, only found on the rocky cliffs of the Sandia Mountains and Manzanos. They are at their peak.
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Coralbells |
Three native New Mexican species of Senecio (Groundsel) were blooming heartedly both in the shade and sun: Cutleaf Groundesel, Notchleaf Groundsel, and Nodding Groundsel. Mountain Parsley with it's umbrels of tiny yellow flowers was everywhere. Sages (that are really asters) like Fringed Sage, Louisiana Sage, and Ragweed Sagebrush were at peak everywhere along the sunny rocky path.
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Cutleaf Groundsel - Senecio eremophilus |
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Louisiana Sage - Artemisia ludoviciana |
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Fringed Sage - Artemisia frigida |
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Nodding Groundsel - Senecio bigelovii |
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Ragweed Sagebrush - Artemisa franseriodes |
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Notch-leaf Groundsel (leaf) - Senecio fendleri |
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Mountain Parsley - Pseudocymopterus montana |
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King’s Crown – Sedum integrifolium
grows in the cliff rocks |
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Jacob's Ladder - Polemonium foliosissimum |
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Scarlet Paintbrush - Castilleja miniata |
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Dragonhead – Dracocephalum parviflorum |
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Pretty Cinquefoil - Potentilla pulcherrima |
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Twisted Pod Draba – Draba helleriana |
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Harebells - Campanula rotundifolia |
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Bindweed - Convolvulus arvensis |
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Coralbells - Heuchera pulchella |
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Sandia Coralbells grow only here and in the Manzano Mountains |
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Coralbells (left) and Velvet Umbrellawort - Mirabilis oblongifolia (right) |
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Tall Easter Daisy - Townsendia exima |
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Tall Easter Daisy - Townsendia exima |
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Pingüe/Colorado Rubberweed – Hymenoxys richardsonii |
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Pingüe, also called Bitterweed, has slender leaves
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Western Yarrow – Achillea lanulosa |
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Oregon Grape Holly/Creeping Mahonia – Berberis repens |
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Richardson's Geranium - Geranium richardsonii |
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Canada Violet - Viola canadensis |
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Red Columbine - Aquilega triternata |
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Fendler's Sandwort - Arenaria fendleri - spread their delightful blooms
among the rocky tundra surfaces of mountain tops |
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New England Aster |
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The involucre and leaves of New England Aster |
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Parry's Goldenrod - Oreochrysum parryi |
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Giant Hyssop - Agastache pallidiflora |
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Geyer's Onion - Lilium geyeri |
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Deer's Ears/Green Gentian - Frasera speciosa |
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Sweet Cicely - Osmorhiza obtusa |
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Striped Coralroot - Corallorhiza striata
in the moist undergrowth of the trees |
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Lambert's Locoweed - Oxytrophis lambertii |
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Whipple's or Dusky Penstemon - Penstemon whippleanus |
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Mushroom growing in a tree trunk |
I'm writing down names of places your describing. Who knows since our son and family have moved to the Mesa area we may be driving thru N.M. next summer. I do love wildflowers and walks regardless of where....:)
ReplyDeleteSo nice to see the deer out and about and all the pretty wildflowers. The coral bells are lovely and I like that mushroom sprouting out of the dead stump.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine was hiking up near Cienega on Sunday and came upon a limping bear on the hill above her. She hightailed it out of there, but we hope the bear is ok and able to forage ok to prepare for winter.
Kind of bittersweet to have to face up to the end of summer, though. Our winters are so long and can be so challenging up here. I love our beautiful summers!
~Lisa
luv all the wonderful photos
ReplyDeleteespecially the corabells