Image of the day

[Lori S.]

Welcome to the forum, Will!  Rousing stuff from Robbie Burns there!

Todd (or anyone), would you say that the Eriogonum I showed is E. ovalifolium then?  That's what I assumed it was.

Here's a scene from the longer, warmer days when the sun was still high in the sky...

[RickR]

Once I saw the words, it was easy to understand. 
A strong and resolute message.  (What else would one expect from a Scotsman?) 
Thanks for the primer.

[IMYoung]

Todd (or anyone), would you say that the Eriogonum I showed is E. ovalifolium then?  That's what I assumed it was.

 It looks like what we grow as E. ovalifolium, Lori..... but from thousands of miles away, that's not saying much!   
 I like the smaller leaved Eriogonum.... Ian likes them all. They don't flower very well here though..... not enough of those tall skies, I guess.

[David Sellars]

Here's a scene from the longer, warmer days when the sun was still high in the sky...

That's a beautiful picture Lori.  Just the kind of place I like to hike. It looks like the Kananaskis area but where exactly was the image taken?

[Kelaidis]

Your picture of the Eriogonum, Lori, does look like E. ovalifolium. But the much commoner caespitose alpine eriogonum in Alberta is Eriogonum androsaceum, and they can look very similar. Check out this link:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/321390/

I have not seen either species on my trips to Banff and Jasper--but then I have not covered much territory in the Alpine zone there. Eriogonum androsaceum has been lumped with E. flavum var. piperi, which I have grown, but I believe they are quite distinct (botanists can be hasty and are often wrong). If indeed it is allied to the Eriogonum flavum/jamesii/arcuatum complex, it bodes very good for it: I find these to be the easiest, most adaptable, most long blooming and INDESTRUCTIBLE of buckwheats! Best of all, they bloom in July and August, when our gardens need a boost! So make sure you get a pinch of seed next time you get up there! I have never seen seed of E. androsaceum offered anyhwhere.

[Lori S.]

David, the photo is indeed from Kananaskis... it's Sparrowhawk Tarns in Peter Lougheed Park, one of our favourite places :
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=746.0

Re. the Eriogonum photo... Thanks, Maggi and Panayoti for your comments.
Panayoti, I have been trying to ID the alpine Eriogonum spp. that I see on our hikes.  The photo of E. androsaceum that you linked (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/321390/) is one of mine that I posted after an effort to ID them from the flower characteristics and whether or not a stipe is present:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=738.msg10757#msg10757
I concluded that the linked Dave's Garden photo was E. androsaceum (vs. E. ovalifolium) from the "stipe-like base" - please correct me if I'm wrong (and I'll get that linked photo removed from the Dave's Garden site if necessary).  
If I'm right, E. androsaceum (in the Kananaskis area anyway) seems to have elongated leaves.  Here's some of the discussion around leaf shape:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=493.msg5230#msg5230
The plants I saw in Kananaskis that I concluded were E. ovalifolium (http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=738.msg10757#msg10757) had a similar leaf shape to the Waterton plants, but were not silvery.  We plan to visit Waterton through the bloom season next year, so I hope I can examine the flowers of the silver plants there and see if they have stipes or not (expecting "not" if they are E. ovalifolium).

Thanks for any help you can give me with this.

[Kelaidis]

Boy, Lori! I should be embarrassed that I didn't follow the thread and see the picture was yours! Your picture is definitely NOT E. ovalifolium, based on my pretty extensive experience with that taxon. It looks uncannily like some forms of E. douglasii that I have grown, which of course does NOT occur in your area I am quite sure. I have never associated the flavum complex with the douglasii group, but this could be an intermediate! I wouldn't withdraw your picture at all: I have a hunch you are right on the ID...

[Lori S.]

Good heavens, no need for an apology.  I don't think anyone could follow the twisted threads all through, or be be expected to know that the Dave's Garden photo was mine!   
Thank you for the confirmation that the Dave's Garden one is not E. ovalifolium... that helps!

[Lori S.]

This mosaic of moss, Salix, Petasites, Castilleja, etc. growing in the outflow from melting snow gives a jolt of colour!

[Weiser]

Just now settling in for the winter. This last week I finally finished cleaning seed and sent in my seed donations the exchanges. So now I'll take a look at what I've been missing.

Lori nice Eriogonum shots I'm always interested in seeing good photos of the species.

Here are a couple of shots of Ranunculus eschscholtzii var. oxynotus taken in late August.

[Hoy]

Always nice to see Eriogonums! I sowed some this spring and have planted out a few plants at my summerhouse. Now I am looking forward to spring

Very nice Ranunculus, John. Is it a desert or a mountain species?

[Weiser]

Hoy
I found it at 8,500' (2590m) on damp seeps.
These were growing at  Lake Winnemucca in the Sierra Nevada Range. Companion plants were Primula suffrutescens, Cassiope mertensiana, Kalmia polifolia ssp. microphylla, Salix arctica, Caltha leptosepala ssp. howellii, Dodecatheon alpinum, Saxifraga aprica, Rhodiola integrifolia, Mimulus primuloides, Lewisia nevadensis, Pedicularis attollens, Phyllodoce breweri and many other gems.
 

[externmed]

2 weeks after a  freak damaging snow storm, temps back in low 60s for a bit.  The last fresh flower in the garden until end of March +/-.
I assume the flower form is a quirk and may not be repeated.
Charles Swanson NE Mass USA

[McDonough]

Nice one Charles!  Keep an eye out for that particular Crocus, to see if it continues to develop doubled flowers in future years.  I have a couple spring flowering crocus that make extra petals, and with one in particular, it has shown the same trait for the past two years, so mabe it is genetically fixed.  Often these extra-petal aberrations appear in some years and return to normal in subsequent years.

Still have tons of broken branches to cut up and dispose of from the freak "Halloween Snow Storm of 2011", and now this past week back to days in the high 60s and one day reaching 70 F... a crazy autumn in New England.

[Hoy]

Hoy
I found it at 8,500' (2590m) on damp seeps.
These were growing at  Lake Winnemucca in the Sierra Nevada Range. Companion plants were Primula suffrutescens, Cassiope mertensiana, Kalmia polifolia ssp. microphylla, Salix arctica, Caltha leptosepala ssp. howellii, Dodecatheon alpinum, Saxifraga aprica, Rhodiola integrifolia, Mimulus primuloides, Lewisia nevadensis, Pedicularis attollens, Phyllodoce breweri and many other gems.
 

Thanks, John, what a mix The buttercup had very nice company, couldn't make it better in the garden.