Name these wildflowers — extra points for the scientific name and interesting factoids — especially if the leaves will work in a salad. Click all to enlarge.
Wildflower 1
Wildflower 2
Wildflower 3
Wildflower 4
Wildflower 5
Wildflower 6
3 Responses to “Guess That Colorado Wildflower”
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Flower number one is either Vetch or Colorado Loco. Both of the pea family. Loco is said to make livestock go, well, Loco. Flower number two is Indian Paint brush. There is a legend about how Indian paint brush was given its name, but I cant remember the whole thing and it’s kind of a long story. Suffice it to say, it was used as a paint brush, and it comes in varying colors..yellow, to orange, to red. I want to say number three is Lily of the Valley, or false Lily of the Valley. Number four is Earth Smoke. Number 5 is Rocky Mountain Bluebells, and number 6 is Wallflower.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say the proper genus name of #1 is Astragalus. Astragalus spp is a selenium hyperaccumulator which means that, when grown on soils with sufficient available selenium, it preferentially accumulates that element and incorporates it in its tissues to concentrations well in excess of 1,000 ppm (the selenium replaces sulfur within the molecular structure of the plant cells).
When livestock eats such plants often enough they will grow deformed hooves and in extreme chronic cases, will hemorage from their lungs and die.
This was originally studied by Orville A. Beath in the 20s and 30s, based out of U of WY and formed the basis of my Master’s Thesis work.
Shane, thanks for explaining why my feet looks so weird.