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| Penstemon palmeri ©2014 Andi Wolfe |
Another of the beautiful subalpine plants that were flowering during the American Penstemon Society meeting last June. This was spotted in the Snowy Range of Wyoming.
One of the beautiful alpine flowers seen in Wyoming during the American Penstemon Society meeting.
Seen in the subalpine zone of the Snowy Mountains of Wyoming. Pedicularis is the largest genus of plants in the parasitic family Orobanchaceae. It's not clear just how many species there are, but estimates range from 350 - 700 or so. The epicenter for diversity is in the Himalayas.
What I love the most about this genus is the wide variety of floral shapes - all specific to different pollinators. The flowers of this species remind me of elephant heads.
The alpine flora of the American west is truly beautiful, especially when it contains this gorgeous penstemon. I posted a different photo awhile ago, but this species is worth seeing again.
This beautiful cactus flower was in bloom during the American Penstemon Society meeting, which was last month in Wyoming. The habitat was sage brush scrub. With those spines, one has to be careful about where one steps.
The flower is a typical representation of what my major professor labeled "mess and spoil" pollination.
The first evening of the American Penstemon Society meeting featured a lecture by Dennis Knight, a retired professor at the University of Wyoming. He gave us an overview of the geomorphology and vegetation of Wyoming, focused on the areas we would be visiting.
One of the most interesting things he talked about was the uplift and erosion of the mountains. What you see here is an erosion basin, which makes the mountains look very small. In fact, I was at 10,000 ft in elevation, looking across to the Snowy Range.
The trees are one-sided (referred to as flag trees) due to the constant wind up here, which comes from the west. In the winter the wind carries snow and ice crystals which beat up the trees big time.
It's a gorgeous landscape, and the alpine flora is well worth exploring.
Last month's American Penstemon Society meeting was in Wyoming. I hadn't spent much time collecting penstemons in Wyoming - mostly just along the I-80 corridor. For the field meeting we traveled in the Snowy Range, the Laramie Mountains, and up to the Ferris Dunes.
This beautiful species is Penstemon laricifolius var. exaltata. It's about five or six inches tall. It's in section Ericopsis, which is a focus my graduate student, Aaron Wenzel. He's doing an interesting study on the phylogeography of this group of penstemons.
I was very glad to make its acquaintance last month, and to have a chance to see some beautiful country out west.
The drought that is affecting much of the USA has taken a huge toll on trees out west. In addition to the white pine bark beetle infestation, many trees are suffering from lack of water.
While in Wyoming last month, I took a photo of a dead tree against a dramatic sky. Monochrome is great for this kind of photographic imaging.
The Snowy Range of Wyoming is absolutely stunning. This is at Medicine Bow, one of the beautiful places I visited last month during the American Penstemon Society meeting.
I love the alpine zone for many reasons, but the stunning scenery is at the top of the list of why I enjoy spending time at high altitude. This spot is still in a transition from forest to true alpine, with a mixed flora that makes it all the more interesting to visit.
One of the lovely penstemons spotted during the American Penstemon Society meeting in Wyoming. This one was in the alpine zone of the Snowy Range, not far from Medicine Bow.
Penstemon whippleanus is one of nearly 300 species of Penstemon, and comes in a variety of hues, ranging from white to deep magenta purple. It's in subgenus Penstemon, section Penstemon. I've worked on Penstemon for more than 20 years of my career and there is still so much to learn about this interesting genus.
Wyoming - habitat for the rare and endangered Penstemon haydenii. The day was hot, dry, winding and it was mid-afternoon. Always a challenge in those conditions.
This is the habitat for one of the Wyoming populations of the Federally endangered species Penstemon haydenii. The American Penstemon Society and Wyoming Native Plant Society did a joint field trip to this site on Monday, June 25, 2012. We found P. haydenii, but not in flower. Some of the plants had been munched, and others had a few dried up flowers still on the stalks.
The site is very beautiful with Ferris Mountain as a backdrop, but quite hot in the middle of the day during the summer. The whole region is very dry this year. It was really great to be able to see this habitat - it is an amazing place to visit, but very difficult to get to.
During a hike in the Laramie Mountains, I found an Aspen grove that seemed about right to try some intentional camera movement technique. Usually I put a neutral density filter on for a long exposure while moving the camera, but I didn't have that with me at the time. This image was done with a fast movement at f/22, ISO 200.
I have a Flickr contact who always posts pictures of trains as they are running on the tracks. I was at a field site with the American Penstemon Society that was next to the crossing. When I heard the warning bells go off I ran up the embankment to get myself into position to do this photo. the combination of open sky, train color, and the colors of Wyoming make a good combo, I think.
An Obair is my solo album, featuring my bandmates in Aisling, the music of O'Carolan, Irish dance tunes, some original compositions, and some nice vocals. The Pilgrim's Road is Aisling's latest CD with some great arrangements of Irish tunes, original compositions, and songs.
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