Bibliography - Page One
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Many alpine plants contain anythocyanin, a chemical that converts sunlight into heat. Plant hairs provide a furry coat that reduces the loss of heat and moisture. These hairs also protect plants from the instense ultraviolet radiation that is twice what it is at sea level.
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Lichen help erode rock. They are multicolored miniature plants that produce weak acids that gradually dissolve the cement that binds minerals together. Some species of lichen live for thousands of years.
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Hummingbirds are great pollinators of wildflowers. Like bees, hummingbirds carry pollen from one plant to another. Each bird visits between one and two thousand blossoms each day! Hummingbirds sometimes enter a state of torpor, usually during the night when they are not feeding. In torpor, metabolism slows down saving up to 60 percent of the bird’s available energy. They use spiderwebs to bolster their nests, which are the size of a walnut shell. Hummingbird eggs are the size of a Tic-tac breath mint. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wildflowers on the tundra often grow small. At ground level, plants are protected from the harsh elements of the tundra. Winds may be thirty miles an hour at eye level but only three miles an hour at your feet. ALSO.....
Plants on the tundra may receive as little as two inches of moisture a year. While some cushion and mat types of plants may be only one or two inches above ground, their moisture seeking roots will grow four to five feet or more under the rocky soil. Below is a photograph from the Mt. Goliath visitor center on Mt. Evans in Colorado. This exhibit shows the incredible underground story!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By expert estimates, there are over 20,000 species of flowering plants in North America, belonging to about 300 different families. Those that grow in the wild or on their own, without cultivation, are called WILDFLOWERS. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Genus Grindelia in the family Asteraceae by Dr. Mary L. Dubler, equine verterinarian, Fort Collins Colorado. "It is not too common that horses get into trouble with eating toxic plants, but in certain areas of the western states Gumweed is a concern because it accumulates the heavy metal Selenium from high-Selenium soils. Selenium consumed in larger-than-normal quantities causes a weakening of the structure of hair and hoof, so the horses start getting cracks and grooves in their hooves and the hairs of the mane and tail break. It can cause other problems too, but often the first thing the owners notice is problems with the hooves or they think the tail hairs are falling out when what is actually happening is that they are breaking. Other plants are Selenium accumulators too, but horses seem to particularly like eating Gumweed, especially late in the summer when the pasture grasses are waning." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
by Dr. Janet L. Wingate and Loraine Yeatts
This book is a guide to a step by step process to identify plants called Keys. By focusing on specific characteristics of plants in a methodical approach, genus and species identification is more reliable. The book covers over 350 species found in six U.S. Rocky Mountain states above the tree line. In addition it is full of information such as names of flower and plant parts, habitat, growth zones, and a glossary to help amateurs such as ourselves obtain more accurate plant identifications. It is portable and meant to be taken into the field. We look forward to putting it to good use. See the first book of keys by Dr. Janet L. Wingate, Rocky Mountain Flower Finder.
Per cover: Showy Wildflowers of the Alpine and Subalpine areas of the Northern Rocky Mountain States.
Coastal Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest is, of course, a specialty book and one that came in most handy for us during a visit to the Oregon coast in 2007. The material is presented well with color photgraphs throughout.
Colorado's Best Wildflower Hikes was one of the first books we bought on moving to Colorado. From the first hike we did based on the recommendation of the book, Pawnee Buette, we were fans!! We identified no less than TWENTY-FIVE new wildflower species on that hike. The wildflower profiles are interesting and the hike descriptions are filled with the wildflowers to be found there.
Colorado's Best Wildflower Hikes, Volume 3 covers the San Juan Mountains.We look forward to exploring the areas covered!
A highly recommended book for botanists, this volume makes a complete technical representation of the flora of Colorado. We are not trained botanists but are finding that the longer we are involved with plant identification the more we want to know. See the text on Western Slope below for the Amazon review of this, and the Western Slope, book.
This highly recommended book just arrived on our doorstep yesterday so an actual hands on statement cannot be given yet. The authors offer extensive knowedge on the flora of Colorado. Here is the Amazon review: 'Reflecting the conclusions of current taxonomic research and recognizing new species found in the state, these thoroughly updated guides offer the most complete and authoritative reference to the plants of Colorado. Both volumes explain basic terminology; discuss plant geography; and describe special botanical features of the mountain ranges, basins, and plains. Interesting anecdotes and introductions are given for each plant family, and hints on recognizing the largest families are provided as well. Each volume includes a complete glossary, indices to common and specific names, and hundreds of illustrations. Ideal both for the student and scientist, Colorado Flora: Eastern and Western Slopes, Third Edition are essential for readers interested in Colorado’s plant life.' End quote.
Per cover: An easy to use field guide to showy wildflowers in the nothern and central Rocky Mountain forests.
A talented man and tireless 'searcher'. Volume One covers wildflowers in the Plains and Foothills zones. Volume Two, Mountains. While the information is brief and merely technical, we have identified a good number of plants from these books, plants that we found nowhere else.
This fine book by Dr. Dee Strickler is a comprehensive work . Not only does it include all 80 species native to the Pacific Northwest, but it is rich in technical botanical information on these plants. The book is dedicated to 'penstemaniacs' everywhere. We are pleased to count ourselves in that category.
Pacific States Wildflowers by Theodore F. Niehaus and Charles L. Ripper
I admit that when I was given this book, I was skeptical that the often simplistic looking line drawings that make up the majority of representations in the book would help me identify plants. I was wrong! We have honed in on the identity of a number of wildflowers using the drawings. The plant information is short and to the point. Fine by us as well.
A real surprise of a book. We bought it for it's small stature to keep the load light on hikes. There are a lot of flowers in this book, good information, and wonderful photography. A nice addition to a collection.
Roadside Wildflowers Pocket Naturalist
Another handy quick guide, organized by color, with line drawings of wildflowers and brief but helpful information as well. Lightweight for us hikers! This is a fan-fold style guide that is water resistant.
Roadside Wildflowers of the Southern Great Plains
A book of blooms by color, often with detailed line drawings of foliage or fruits. Included are 253 photographs of specimens. Portions of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas Oklahoma, and Missouri represent the territory covered. Over half the species in the book group into four main plant families: Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Onagraceae.
A greatly anticipated book for us! A fellow wildflower enthusiast, Dr. Mary Dubler, has found a number of our unidentified species from this material. The book was also recommended by Al Schneider of Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, whose opinion we greatly value. Rocky Mountain Flora is a Colorado Mountain Club Field Guide. We look forward to creasing it's pages, making notes in the side bars, and in general wearing the book out.
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In early 2008 we moved to Colorado. They say that when God takes a vacation, he goes to the Colorado wilderness. We are exploring our hearts out to determine the truth of this! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nature shows us only surfaces, but she is a million fathoms deep. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wildflower Zones 3500 - 6000' Plains 6000 - 8000' Foothills 8,000 - 10,000' Montane 10,000 - 11,500' Subalpine 11,000' - up Alpine (varies) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth, find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. ~Rachel Carson~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Man, being the servant and interpreter of nature, can do and understand so much and so much only as he has observed in fact or in thought of the course of nature: beyond this he neither knows anything nor can do anything. ~Sir Francis Bacon~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends, and nature; and the greatest of these, at least the most constant and always at hand, is nature. ~John Burroughs~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth is generally ~Celia Thaxter~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.. ~Walt Whitman~
Come forth into the Light of things, Let Nature be your teacher. ~William Wordsworth~
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir~ |
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