Plant Identification Help Needed...

[royalusa]

We had some gorgeous wildflowers for our Tahoe Rim Trail Hike. Wish we knew what they were called. Any experts out there?

In this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRLDsFXOwBQ :

Minute 0:28 - there were fields and fields of this yellow flowered plant. The leaves were so soft, almost as if they were coated with aloe. We joked that if we ever ran out of TP, this was the go-to plant!

Minute 1:04 - this red plant was rare sighting and typically found in a shaded area under trees.

Minute 2:10 - perhaps Indian Paintbrush?

Thanks!

[coach lou]

I would need to check my books for the latin, the yellow is mules ear, the fleshy tubes is western sqaw root, the red is a type of Paintbrush, the blue is lupine. Google 'western wildflowers' and you should find all.

[rocketsocks]

very nice pictures thank you

[royalusa]

Thanks Coach! With your help, here's what we've found so far:

Minute 0:28 - the yellow plant – called Mule’s Ears (Wyethia Ovata)
Minute 1:04 - the red plant - called Snow Plant (Sarcodes Sanguinea)

Still digging on the rest.

[coach lou]

Excellent... I just looked up the sarcodes. I thought it looked like a type parasidic plant. I try to identify by the latin because so many plants have local names that are similar but are totally different...........It kind of freaks people out that this backpackin', ice hockey playin', former Marine plants flowers!

[royalusa]

Coach, you got us on a roll now. We were so surprised to see a solo wildflower near the summit of Whitney that we had to take a picture of it. Based on our research, we think it was a Skypilot - Polemonium eximium. That one solo Skypilot was the only vegetation (as well as water) that we had seen for miles and miles as we climbed to the summit.

2:24 in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvTXSGU7chw

Yeah, sorta freaks us out too that we are even interested in identifying our flora findings...but rest assured, given our short term memories, I'm sure we'll forget it all by tomorrow. And then we can do it all over again! Gotta love getting old.

Thanks again for your help.

[royalusa]

Meant to also say that the Skypilot grows at elevations between 3000-4000 meters (about 9800' - 13,100') where few other plants grow. Amazing.

[coach lou]

One of the things that I now enjoy about solo hiking is stopping to 'smell the roses', wher when I was a youg stud peak bagging, I didn't even see them. I now go at certain times just because I know something is blooming.

[sbhikes]

Minute 2:10 is Indian Paintbrush.

So many pretty flowers. I love flowers. I've got a site for identifying some of them. Even though they grow in the coastal area where I hike, many are found in the desert and in the high Sierra.
http://santabarbarahikes.com/flowers/index.php?display=display_table

[nitewalker]

great videos. that northville placid trail looked sweet... the adk's are always nice....as for the flowers , they were nice...