Marble Mountains (Pt. 4)

...Continued from Pt. 3 ... 

Cresting Burn Mountain

As we approached the top of what I have been calling "Burn Mountain", the trail wrapped around the back West-facing side where a fire had apparently killed all the trees, creating a very exposed and rocky slope.  Many wildflowers were flourishing here, perhaps due to all the sunlight they were receiving, in conjunction with a good wet Spring this year.

Tree skeletons abound

Tree spirit

Common Woolly Sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum)

Unknown species of Penstemon (Penstemon sp.)

Hairy Yellow Paintbrush (Castilleja pilosa)
Another hemi-parasitic species of Indian Paintbrush, in the Broomrape family, Orobanchaceae.

Tolmiei's Pussy Ears (Calochortus tolmiei)
This one was tiny, maybe the size of a dime.  I easily could have missed it, but my eyes were on high alert, fortunately!

A species of Willowherb (Epilobium)... I'm not sure if it is Siskiyou Fireweed (Epilobium siskiyouense) or Rockfringe Willowherb (Epilobium obcordatum):

The more common Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) which has a wide distribution and grows at a large range of altitudes.
A member of the same family, Onagraceae, as the previous species.

Stonecrop (Sedum sp.) succulent was prevalent all along our hike, anywhere sunny and rocky.  I am not sure on the species though:

Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata)
a member of the Phlox family Polemoniaceae

Some sort of Apiaceae species overlooking a distant peak

Moon Rocks

Trekking through the towering skeletons...

More Sulfur Buckwheat on the peak

Buckwheat & White Yarrow.  Mt. Shasta on the horizon.

Destination reached!

Group shot overlooking Cliff Lake where our camp is.
Mt. Shasta on the horizon again.

It was a great day full of lots of interesting plants and stunning views!

Marble Mountains (Pt. 3)

Burn Mountain Overlook

On day two we left our backpacks behind and made our way up to a peak overlooking Cliff Lake, where we were camped.  Here are some of the flowers I saw:

Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa?)

 

Dusky Onion (Allium campanulatum)

Bitter Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)

Dogbane getting a visit from a butterfly

Sierra Shooting Star (Dodecatheon jeffreyi)

We stopped at Summit Lake for lunch and a swim...

...as well as to admire some neat plants found right beside us on this stone outcropping:

Fluffy Pussy Paws (Calyptridium umbellatum)

Quill-Leaf Lewisia (Lewisia leeana) with a small bee

Cliff Maids (Lewisia cotyledon) with a small beetle

...not sure what this blue-greyish succulent is, but it made a nice vignette

Mountain Jewelflower (Streptanthus tortuosus):

We left Summit Lake and continued on our way up the mountain...

Looking back down at Summit Lake

There's the meadow from two pictures previous

Sulfur Buckwheat? (Eriogonum sp.) These were prevalent all over the drier more sun-exposed, rocky areas of our trip.  There seemed to be at least a couple similar-looking species, so I won't try to guess what this one is.

...To Be Continued in Pt. 4...

Marble Mountains (Pt. 2)

Mighty Mints of the Mountains

Members of the "Mint Family" Lamiaceae:

Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris)

Hummingbird Mint (Agastache sp.)

Coyote Mint (Monardella sp.)

Lamiaceae are a genus often beloved by all sorts of nectar-feeding critters:

Unknown butterfly on coyote mint

This next butterfly, also feeding on coyote mint, is called a Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis) for the white comma-shaped marking on the underside of its wings (barely visible if you zoom in on the left image).

Here's a separate sighting with a better view of the small white comma on the underside of the wing.