Trophy Mountain in June
We hiked the Trophy Mountain Trail in June and stopped to enjoy the wildflowers and flowering shrubs along the way. The first 2 km winds through the forest, then emerges into a subalpine zone. We saw many flowering plants and a few are featured here.
White bog-orchids (Platanthera dilatata sp.) were spotted in drainage areas. Five-leaved bramble (Rubus pedatus) is a low-growing shrub with white flowers. Sitka valerian (Valeriana sitchensis) was abundant in open areas. Bracted lousewort (Pedicularis bracteosa) was just emerging. Western meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale) was abundant too. Twisted stalk (Streptopus sp.) grew next to streams and had small flower hanging flower buds. The last of the yellow glacier-lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum) were still abundant in the meadows. Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.) and cow parsnip (Sium suave) were spotted but will be more abundant in 2 to 3 weeks.
Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption. How many of these can you identify without captions?
In the krummholz areas and above the treeline we spotted both white and pink mountain heathers (Erica sp.), lots of emerging hellebore (Veratrum viride) , a couple of patches of moss campion (Silene acaulis), alpine pussytoes (Antennaria alpina), and a small patch of glaucous gentian (Gentiana glauca).
More information on these:
A nice selection, especially the glaucous gentian which I’ve only seen half-a-dozen times. I’ve been wanting to get up to Trophy Meadows for years to see the glacier lily show at its peak. Maybe next year?