Curiouser and curiouser: Madera Canyon Flora

Here's a look at some of the flora from my Madera Canyon hike earlier this month. While the height of wildflower season had past already, there were still many flowers scattered throughout the forest that added some nice color.

The scarlet penstemon (Penstemon barbatus), also known as red beardtongue, always strikes me as quite elegant. It's also a hummingbird favorite. The common name and genus penstemon is often claimed to be derived from Greek penta- (five) and stēmōn (warp/thread); however, I've also seen it derived as Latin paene- (almost) + Greek stēmōn. In either case, the name seems to refer to the fact that in addition to the four typical stamen, penstemons also have a sterile fifth stamen. Even the name beardtongue refers to this sterile but hairy stamen, which seems to serve various purposes in different species.

This is a firecracker bush (Bouvardia ternifolia), or a scarlet bouvardia. Although I do like the name firecracker bush, the Spanish name--"Trompetilla", or little trumpet--may be even more fitting. This is a common flower in the sky islands, and it also attracts hummingbirds.

And here's a close up of those little trumpet flowers.

This golden columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha) was definitely past its peak and beginning to wilt, but I always love the graceful spurs of columbines.

This is clearly an iconic Indian paintbrush of some sort, although species identifications among this genus are notoriously difficult. My best guess is maybe a Catalina Indian paintbrush (Castilleja tenuiflora)? Let me know if you have tips for identifying these!

This was the first time I've ID'ed the manyflowered stoneseed (Lithospermum multiflorum).

I don't usually try to identify thistles. It's obviously a thistle, and generally figure I won't get much farther than that. But with some help based on flowering time and location, I think this is the aptly named Arizona thistle (Cirsium arizonicum).

These cute little purple flowers are aromatic false pennyroyals (Hedeoma hyssopifolia); such a long name for a rather small flower (each flower is less than 1/2" long).

And here is a pretty little yellow aster of some sort. My best guess is a mountain oxeye (Heliopsis parvifolia), helped along by the toothed and tapering alternating leaves.

This alpine false springparsley (Pseudocymopterus montanus) was a small forb with inconspicuous flowers that nevertheless kept catching my attention (they do grow larger, up to a couple feet, but the ones I saw were all quite small). If the leaves remind you of carrots, as they did me, that's because it's in the carrot family! It has documented ethnobotanical uses in multiple Indigenous cultures.

While in many ways the hike was a nice break from the desert, there were a few reminders that the desert wasn't far away. Including this cute hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus).

There were also a few signs of past forest fires. (For those who may be wondering, the Bighorn fire is now pretty much under control, but there's now a new fire southwest of Tucson, started by lightening during an intense storm last night.)

One thing about moving across the country--especially one as ecologically and climatologically diverse as the U.S.--is that most of the flora are completely different. While I still know an oak when I see one, I don't know all the local species. But I'm learning. Slowly.

This one is, I think, a silverleaf oak (Quercus hypoleucoides)...

while this appears to be an Emory or Apache oak (Quercus emoryi).

There were also some lovely Arizona sycamores (Platanus wrightii) that were far too tall to photograph with the telephoto lens I used for most of the hike for the sake of all the birds.

I hadn't seen a fern in a while, and for some reason they have a special spot in my heart. On reflection, I suppose their fractal-like appearance, unique biology, and association for me with walking through forests all contribute to my fondness. Anyway, I think this one is a bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), which is perhaps the most common fern, native to the northern hemisphere but now found on every continent except Antarctica.