East Rim Nature Hike
On a greyish, drizzly day I went for a hike along the rim of both sides of Peterson Creek Park, dropping down to the creek twice for an up-and-down loop route. Wildflowers and flowering shrubs were abundant. It was a quick-paced hike so each encounter was a brief pause for a quick photo. A few images are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
In the gallery below are star-flowered false solomon’s-seal (Smilacena stellata), Thompson’s paintbrush (Castilleja thompsonii), pale comandra/bastard toadflax (Comandra umbellata) , thread-leaved phacelia (Phacelia linearis), fleabane (Erigeron sp.), round-leaved alumroot (Heuchera cyclindrica), puccoon (Lithospermum incisum), Beckwith’s milkvetch (Astralagus beckwithii), and reflexed rockcress (Boechera retrofacta).
Also spotted were stairstep moss (Hylocomium splendens), lemonweed (Lithospermum ruderale), salsify (Tragopogon dubius), old man’s whiskers (Geum triflorum), and more star-flowered false solomon’s seal , pale comandra , fleabane, puccoon, and Thompson’s paintbrush.
Some of the flowering shrubs are escapees from the homes in Sahali, now content to thrive in the gullies. Some are native to the area.
Pictured here are mountain ash (Sorbus scolpulina), chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), honeysuckle shrub (Lonerica tatarica), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), and poison ivy (Rhus radicans).
Notes –
- More information on some of these can be found on the Wildflowers page.
- Id’s on the Erigeron genus is an ongoing process. Taking an image of the infloresence is usually insufficient. More discipline is need to also photograph the leaves and stems to sort out the various species.
- Common names vary with the references and the sources. No attempt is made in posts to provide all the names, although this is usually information included on the Wildflowers pages.
- Comments are welcome.