Tom Schweich  

Discussion - Native Plants

Taxa represented by single collections.

Taxa without infra-specific determinations.

Rare Plants

Physaria vitulifera Rydb. “Fiddleleaf Twinpod”

Reported as an endemic of central Colorado in the Flora of North America (FNA Vol. 7). Known from Boulder, Clear Creek, Douglas, El Paso, Gilpin, Jefferson, Park and Teller counties.

There is also a hybrid, currently designated Physaria ×1, and some current collections determined P. vitulifera may be of that hybrid.

Spiranthes diluvialis Sheviak. “Ute Ladies' Tresses”

Populations of Ute ladies'-tresses orchids are known from three broad general areas of the interior western United States -- near the base of the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in southeastern Wyoming and adjacent Nebraska and north-central and central Colorado; in the upper Colorado River basin, particularly in the Uinta Basin; and in the Bonneville Basin along the Wasatch Front and westward in the eastern Great Basin, in north-central and western Utah, extreme eastern Nevada, and southeastern Idaho.

The species is threatened throughout its range by many forms of water developments, intense domestic livestock grazing, haying, exotic species invasion, fragmentation and urbanization in particular.

In Golden s.l., we do not identify locations where this plant has been found.

Notable Native Plants

Equisetum laevigatum A. Braun “Smooth Horsetail”

There is additionally a published report of Equisetum hyemale L. by Ziese (1976) that is supported by a second informal report (Cindy Trujillo, personal communication). Reports or collection of other Horsetails include E. arvense, E. variegatum, and several hybrids. These reports or collections are scattered widely in Jefferson County. Equisetum is found throughout Colorado, though less dense on the eastern plains and in Moffatt County.

Argyrochosma fendleri (Kunze) Windham “Fendler's False Cloak Fern”

Cheilanthes feei T. Moore “Slender Lipfern”

First described as Myriopteris gracilis by Fee (1852) citing habitat on rocks around Hillsboro, in North America.

Selaginella underwoodii Hieron “Underwood's Spikemoss”

Cystopteris fragilis (L.) Bernh. “Brittle Bladderfern”

The fern was first described by Linnaeus (1753) as Polypodium fragile from habitats described as the cooler hills of Europe. Cystopteris was proposed by Bernhardi in 1805, who placed C. fragilis therein. This was done in German which, I confess, I have not tried to translate. The fern is widely distributed in both the northern and southern hemisphere.

Woodsia oregana D.C. Eaton ssp. cathcartiana (B.L. Rob.) Windham “Rocky Mountain Woodsia”

Azolla mexicana C. Presl “Mexican Mosquito Fern”

Described by Presl (1845) from plants known from Mexico.

It is not clear to me that A. mexicana C. Presl is in question. Some authors apply A. mexicana Schltdl. & Cham., which is further placed in synonomy with A. microphylla Kaulf.

Juniperus communis L. var. depressa Pursh “Common Juniper”

The species and all the varieties are called the “Common Juniper.” The species name is a Linnean name published 1753 in his Species Plantarum noting that the plant occurs in the northern woods of Europe. Frederick Pursh (1814) proposed the variety name depressa from plant he had seen live in New York and Maine. The varietal name depressa refers to the overall shape of the plant, giving the appearance of being flattened from above.

Juniperus scopulorum Sarg. “Rocky Mountain Juniper”

The taxon was originally treated as J. virginiana L. or the Red Cedar. C. S. Sargent (1897) recognized J. scopulorum as a separate species. The Rocky Mountain Juniper is found as far east of South Dakota and Nebraska, where it is known to hybridize with its eastern relative J. virginiana in zones of contact in the Missouri River basin. To the west, J. scopulorum is known to occur in Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona, though not California. Hybrids of J. scopulorum and J. osteosperma are known from from Walnut Canyon [Arizona?] north into Utah and east to Mesa Verde.

Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Lawson & C. Lawson. “Ponderosa Pine”

The Ponderosa Pine was one of several trees that David Douglas (1799-1834) introduced into cultivation in England following his second expedition to the Pacific Northwest. Another of Douglas' introductions was the Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). The pine species was described from specimens grown in England and grown in botanic or agricultural gardens. The published description was by Peter Lawson and his son (1836) from plants still in pots at his Agricultural Museum in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was supplemented by a larger specimen growing in the Caledonian Horticultural Society's Gardens, Inverleith Row, now part of the Royal Botanic Garden, also in Edinburgh, Scotland. The specific epithet ponderosa refers to the density of the “… timber said to be so ponderous as almost to sink in water …”

Several varieties of P. ponderosa have been described, and those in Colorado are generally known as variety scopulorum Engelmann in S. Watson (Brewer, Watson, and A. Gray, 1880, vol. 2, pg. 126) though the taxonomy of this complex is far from resolved. Some recent evidence suggests that our variety scopulorum might be better treated at the rank of species (Willyard, et al., 2017). At the generic level, a phylogeny of Pinus was published by Gernandt, et al. (2005).

Ponderosa pine on top of North Table Mountain.

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco. “Douglas Fir”

Coll. No. 1502, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca

Salix exigua Nutt. “Coyote Willow”

It is the only willow that is found in every county of Colorado.

The species was descibed by Nuttall (1842) in his extension of Michaux's North American Sylva as being found in the Territory of Oregon without any additional information about collector, location, date, &c. It it also a little curious that Nuttall mentions no willows in either his report of his residency in Oregon (Nuttall, 1840) or in his descriptions of plants collected by William Gambel (Nuttall, 1848).

Pistillate catkin of Coll. No. 1880, Salix exigua	Staminate catkin of Coll. No. 1880, Salix exigua

Betula occidentalis Hook. “Water Birch”

Described by Hooker (1837, v. 2, p. 155) from collections by Dr. Scouler at the Straits of De Fuca, near springs on the west side of the Rocky Mountains (Douglas), and on the east side of the Rocky Mountains to Edmonton House (Drummond).

Corylus cornuta Marshall “Beaked Hazelnut”

Our tree was first described by Marshall (1785) giving the common names of “Dwarf Filbert” or “Cuckold-nut,” and described as a smaller version of C. americana Marshall, the “American Hazelnut.” Marshal wrote no description of where the trees were found, or who might have discovered them.

Quercus gambelii Nutt. “Gambel Oak”

The oak is broadly distributed throughout the American Southwest. For example, the writer has also collected it in the Spring Mountains, Clark County, Nevada, about 45 km. northwest of Las Vegas.

The oak was named by Thomas Nuttall (1848) for its first collector William Gambel who at the age of eighteen set off on his own for California and to collect plants and other specimens for Nuttall. The collection was made on the banks of the Rio del Norte, which we now call the Rio Grande River, presumably somewhere near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Rio Grande does not actually pass through Santa Fe, but passes some 40 km. to the west.

Coll. No. 2288, Quercus gambelii

Celtis reticulata Torr. “Net-Leaved Hackberry”

The tree was described by Torrey (1828) from collections by Edwin James MD, botanist on the Stephen H. Long expedition of 1820.

Humulus lupulus L. “Wild Hops”

Five different names have been applied to collections of wild hops in Colorado (Humulus americanus Nutt., H. lupulus L., H. lupulus subsp. americanus (Nutt.) Á.Löve & D.Löve, H. lupulus var. lupuloides E. Small, and H. lupulus var. neomexicanus A. Nelson & Cockerell) and indeed there may be several different taxa in the state. Small (1993+) writing in the Flora of North America North of Mexico accepts H. lupulus var. neomexicanus A. Nelson & Cockerell. Colorado authors Weber and Wittmann (2012) accept H. lupulus var. neomexicanus Nelson & Cockerell, whereas Ackerfield (2015) treats it at the rank of species as H. neomexicanus Rydb. Confounding factors include the introduction of European domestic hops to support the beer industry. Wild and domestic hops hybridize leading some to question whether there is any pure wild hops remaining, except perhaps in the most remote locations.

Coll. No. 2419, Humulus lupulus	Wild hops growing on Chokecherry, with Hairy Willow herb below.

Comandra umbellata (L.) Nutt. ssp. pallida (A. DC.) Piehl. “Pale Bastard Toadflax”

In Jefferson County, it has been collected at Rocky Flats, Ranson/Edwards and North and South Table Mountains, though not at Chatfield, which seems a little odd.

Nuttall (1818) first published the name Comandra umbellata, using a Linnaeus name of Thesium umbellatum as a basionym. C. pallida was proposed by DeCandolle (1857) from a collection made in present-day Nez Perce County, Idaho, by missionary Reverend Henry H. Spalding. Piehl (1965) reduced C. pallida to a subspecies of C. umbellata noting that the various subspecies intergrade. There is thus one species of Comandra in North America with three subspecies, and one subspecies in the Balkan region of Europe. Recent phylogenetic work (Der and Nickrent, 2008) supports a Comandra clade within the Santalaceae.

Comandra umbellata has a couple of interesting characters. First, it is parasitic as apparently is much of the Santalaceae, parasitizing other plants from rhizomes. Second, hairs growing from the petals to the back side of the stamens is somewhat unique. They also play a role in forest pathology as alternate hosts of the comandra-pine blister rust. Finally our subspecies, pallida dies back to the ground each year, resprouting each spring from subterranean buds.

Coll. No. 1373, Comandra umbellata subsp. pallida	Coll. No. 1373, Comandra umbellata subsp. pallida

Eriogonum alatum Torr. “Winged Buckwheat”

Winged buckwheat is found sparingly in Jefferson County, primarily in drier sites along the Rocky Mountain foothills. More broadly, the winged buckwheat is found throughout the Colorado Plateau and nearby places.

The taxon name was published by John Torrey in 1857, from a collection made along the Zuni River, in Arizona or New Mexico. Torrey notes that the unique plant was seen in the field as early as 1842 by John Frémont and by other early plant explorers, though he makes no explanation for the delay in publishing a name for the plant.

Winged buckwheat is sometimes treated as Pterogonum alatum (Torr.) Gross, e.g., for Colorado in Weber & Wittmann (2012). However, other authors, e.g., Ackerfield (2015) and Reveal in Flora of North America (Reveal, 2005), place the taxon in Eriogonum reducing Pterogonum to the rank of subgroup.

Eriogonum alatum	Voucher of Coll. No. 2390, Eriogonum alatum

Eriogonum arcuatum Greene “Baker's Buckwheat”

E. arcuatum has been widely collected in Golden s.l., from Mt. Vernon Canyon in the south, on North and South Table Mountains, to North Washington Open Space. It probably can also be found in the other open spaces as well.

There are also observations of E. flavum on North Table Mountain, and a collection there by the writer. Yet today we might identify those plants as E. arcuatum. Users of Weber & Wittmann (2012) would have applied E. flavum to them, because those authors treat E. arcuatum as a local race rather than a separate species. Ackerfield's (2015) Flora of Colorado and Reveal's (2005) treatment of Eriogonum in Flora of North America treat E. arcuatum and E. flavum as a distinct species. This leaves the vouchers E. flavum and the SEINet data base prepared from those vouchers in a confused state, in that some of those carrying the name E. flavum could very well be E. arcuatum.

Coll. No. 1232, Eriogonum flavum var. flavum arcuatum.	Inflorescence of Coll. No. 1401.1, Eriogonum arcuatum	Coll. No. 1695, Eriogonum arcuatum

Eriogonum effusum Nutt. “Spreading Buckwheat”

Nuttall (1848) described Eriogonum effusum in his description of plants collected by William Gambel. It is, however, a Nuttall collection made on the “… Platte plains …” and therefore on his 1834 journey across the Rocky Mountains.

E. effusum is the only representative of Eriogonum subgroup Eucycla that is found in Golden s.l.

Voucher of Coll. No. 2431.1, Eriogonum effusum

Eriogonum umbellatum Torrey, Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York. 2: 241. 1827. “Sulphur-Flower Buckwheat”

There is another variety, var. ramulosum, that Jim Reveal (2004) described from Mount Vernon Canyon on the southern edge of Golden. The inflorescence is branched and there is an additional whorl of bracts below the branches of the inflorescence. The writer has also found this variety in the north part of Apex Park, about 3½ km. north of Mount Vernon Canyon.

Habitat of Coll. No. 1445, Eriogonum umbellatum	Coll. No. 1445, Eriogonum umbellatum var. umbellatum

Eriogonum umbellatum Torr. var. ramulosum Reveal “Buffalo Bill's Sulphur Flower”

Eriogonum umbellatum Torr. var. umbellatum. “Sulphur-Flower Buckwheat”

Polygonum douglasii Greene “Douglas Knotweed”

Polygonum engelmannii Greene “Engelmann's Knotweed”

P. engelmanii has been treated as a variety of P. douglasii.

Polygonum ramosissimum Michx. “Bushy Knotweed”

Rumex triangulivalvis (Danser) Rech. f. “Triangular-Valved Dock”

The author has collected our plant at Lippincott Ranch and at Mono Lake, California.

Rumex venosus Pursh “Veiny Dock”

Descibed by Pursh (1814, v. 2, supplement, p. 733) from a collection by Bradbury in Upper Louisiana.

Chenopodiaceae Vent — Goosefoot Family

Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt. “Four-wing Saltbush”

Otherwise, around Jefferson County, it has been collected in the heavly collected places, such as Chatfield and Rocky Flats.

In North American, this taxon is found from the 95^th Meridian (east-central Oklahoma and Texas), west to the southern Coast Ranges of California, and from the north near Calgary, Alberta, south to central Mexico.

The name, as Calligonum canescens, was published by Pursh (1814-1816, v. 2., p. 370) from a collection in the Lewis & Clark herbarium that was made at the Big Bend of the Missouri River on September 21, 1804 (Moulton, 1999). Nuttall (1818, p. 197) moved the plant to Atriplex.

Chenopodium atrovirens Rydb. “Pinyon Goosefoot”

Chenopodium berlandieri Moq. “Pitseed Goosefoot”

The species was described by Moquin-Tandon (1840) from a collection by Berlandier in Mexico.

Suckleya suckleyana (Torr.) Rydb. “Poison Suckleya”

Amaranthus arenicola I. M. Johnst. “Sandhill Pigweed”

Amaranthus blitoides S. Watson “Mat Amaranth”

Amaranthus powellii S. Watson “Powell's Pigweed”

The pigweed was named for Col. John Wesley Powell, who brought seeds from Arizona.

Froelichia gracilis (Hook.) Moq. “Slender Snakecotton”

The type is a Drummond collection from Texas.

Abronia fragrans Nutt. ex Hook. “Snowball Sand Verbena”

Widely distributed in Colorado, primarily on the plains, though also found in the valleys of the Colorado, Gunnison, and Dolores Rivers, and the headwaters of the Huerfano River.

The name was published by Hooker (1853) from a description by Nuttall. Nuttall collected the plant on the sand hills of the Lower Platte, though he does not identify the expedition or the year. It is assumed (by me and others) that the collection was made on his trip to Oregon Territory in 1834. Otherwise, the earliest known collection would be on Fremont's expedition to the Rocky Mountains, 1842. A voucher from Fremont's expedition (NY3370444) was in Torrey's Herbarium, so it would seem that Torrey knew the plant and the name but deferred to Nuttall to publish it.

Mirabilis linearis (Pursh) Heimerl “Narrowleaf Four O'Clock”

First published by Nuttall (1813) as Calymenia angustifolia, then as Allionia linearis by Pursh (1814). Then published as Mirabilis linearis Heimerl (1901). It seems to me that Nuttall's (1813) name has priority over Pursh's name. We could still use Pursh's A. linearis if it were conserved, though I see no evidence of that,

Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michx.) MacMill. “Heartleaf Four O'Clock”

First described by Michaux (1803) as Allionia nyctaginea from habitat on the Tennessee River, placed in Mirabilis by MacMillan (1892, p. 217).

Claytonia lanceolata Pursh “Lanceleaf Springbeauty”

The species was described by Pursh (1814) from a Lewis & Clark collection made in 1806 at the headwaters of the Kooskooski (Clearwater) River.

Claytonia rosea Rydb. “Rocky Mountain Springbeauty”

Described by Rydberg (1904) as a segregate from C. caroliniana upon examining herbarium specimens.

Found along the Front Range and into the foothills of Jefferson County. Colorado collections are along the Front Range, and then along the south side of the San Juan Mountains.

Phemeranthus parviflorus (Nutt.) Kiger “Sunbright”

It was first collected by Thomas Nuttall on the Arkansas River on his 1818-1820 trip there, and published by Torrey and Gray (1838-1843) as Talinum parviflorum. However, recent molecular and morphological evidence show that the New World genus Phemeranthus in phylogenetically distinct from the generally Old World genus Talinum.

Cerastium arvense L. ssp. strictum Gaudin “Field Chickweed”

Both Cerastium arvense and C. strictum were named by Linnaeus (1753), and Gaudin (1828) reduced strictum to a variety.

Cerastium brachypodum (Engelmann ex A. Gray) B. L. Robinson “Short-stalked mouse-ear chickweed”

Eremogone fendleri (A. Gray) Ikonnikov “Fendler's Sandwort”

Collected by Agustus Fendler west of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and described by Gray (1849).

Paronychia jamesii Torr. & A. Gray “James' Nailwort”

The type (NY342575) was collected by Dr. James, June 26, 1820, probably between Ogallala, Keith County, Nebraska, and Julesburg, Sedgwick County, Colorado.

Pseudostellaria jamesiana (Torr.) W. A. Weber & R. L. Hartm. “Tuber Starwort”

Described first from a Dr. Edwin James collection (Torrey, 1827), although James' diary makes no mention of the collection. Weber & Hartman (1979) moved the plant to Pseudostellaria because of its similarity to that Asiatic genus.

Silene antirrhina L. “Sleepy Catchfly”

The species was described by Linnaeus (1753) as being native to Virginia and Carolina. We now know it is found from Canada to Mexico (POWO).

Silene drummondii Hook. “Drummond's Campion”

The taxon was described by Hooker (1830) from collections by Richardson, Drummond, and Douglas.

Actaea rubra (Aiton) Willd. “Red Baneberry”

Anemone canadensis L. “Canada Anemone”

Of the three, A. canadensis is most common in Jefferson County. Most of the Colorado state collections were made in the Front Ranges.

Described by Linnaeus (1768) as living in Pennsylvania.

Anemone cylindrica A. Gray “Candle Anemone”

Anemone multifida Poir. var. multifida “Pacific Anemone”

Be careful to distinguish between Anemone multifida Poir. var. multifida and Anemone patens L. var. multifida Pritzel.

Anemone patens L. var. multifida Pritzel

Be careful to distinguish between Anemone multifida Poir. var. multifida and Anemone patens L. var. multifida Pritzel.

Plants of the World (POWO, 2022) treats our plant as Pulsatilla nuttalliana (DC.) Bercht. & J.Presl., a strictly North American entity. Anemone patens var. multifida is not accepted, and is treated as a synonym of Pulsatilla patens subsp. multifida (Pritz.) Zämelis, with its distribution mapped as eastern European Russia to Kamchatka and northern China.

Aquilegia coerulea E. James “Colorado Blue Columbine”

Described by Edwin James from a collection he made at Elephant Rock, near Palmer Lake, El Paso County.

Aquilegia saximontana Rydb. “Rocky Mountain Columbine”

Clematis columbiana (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray “Rock Clematis”

The plant was originally named Atragene columbiana Nutt. from a Nathaniel Wyeth collection on his return from Oregon Territory in 1833. Atragene is a Linnean name that DeCandolle reduced to a section of Clematis in 1818. Weber & Witmann (2012) continue to treat it at the rank of genus. Ackerfield (2015) accepts Clematis columbiana (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray, placing Atragene columbiana Nutt. in synonomy.

Clematis hirsutissima Pursh “Hairy Clematis, Sugar Bowls”

Clematis ligusticifolia Nutt. “Western White Clematis”

The name was published by Torrey & A. Gray (1838, v. 1, p. 9) in their Flora of North America from a manuscript by Thomas Nuttall. Nuttall was describing a plant he collected on the Snake River in 1834 on his trip to Oregon Territory.

The third Clematis found in Golden is C. orientalis, a List B noxious weed.

Delphinium carolinianum ssp. virescens (Nutt.) R.E. Brooks “Plains Larkspur”

Of the three larkspurs known from Golden s.l., this is the only one that is usually white. The other two D. geyeri and D. nuttallianum are typically blue.

The Plains Larkspur was first described by Thomas Nuttall (1818), as being on the plains of the Missouri. Presumably, Nuttall also collected it. However, so far I have not found a collection or reference to a type.

Delphinium is very much a global genus and phylogenetic data (Jabbour and Renner, 2012) suggests that it originated in early Oligocene, possibly in the Mediterranean region, and crossed into North America from Asia in the Pliocene.

Coll. No. 2359, Delphinium carolinianum subsp. virescens	Coll. No. 1440, Delphinium carolinianum subsp. virescens

Delphinium geyeri Greene “Geyer's Larkspur”

The name was applied by Greene (1893) who cited collections by Nuttall and Geyer.

Delphinium nuttallianum Pritz. “Twolobe Larkspur”

Myosurus minimus L. “Tiny Mousetail”

Berberis repens Lindl. “Creeping Barberry”

According to Lindley (1828), seed was collected by the Lewis & Clark party, from which plants raised in American, then sold, and one growing in the Garden of the Horticultural Society (London) was then described by Lindley.

Argemone hispida A. Gray “Rough Prickly Poppy”

Described by Gray (1849) from a collection around Santa Fe, also noting collections by Fremont and Wislizenus.

Distinguished from the next primarily on the density of prickles on the stem.

Argemone polyanthemos (Fedde) G.B. Ownbey “Crested Prickly Poppy”

Jefferson County collections are primarily along the Front Range with a few collections up into the foothills. Similarly, most Colorado collections are along and barely into foothills of the Front Range, and scattered along the southern border including the southwest part of the state. There are fewer collections in New Mexico, including its type locality of Santa Fe.

The first collection of A. polyanthemos was very likely made by Edwin James, MD, on June 20, 1820, just west of Gothenburg, Nebraska. Unfortunately, James gave it the name of A. alba, a name that was not available because it was previously used by Rafinesque (1817). Torrey & Gray (1838) do not mention James' prickly poppy in their Flora of North America and the plant was treated as A. mexicana var. albiflora until Fedde (1909).

I have placed those collections determined A. intermedia Sweet and A. intermedia auct. non Sweet into A. polyanthemos. A. intermedia is a confused name that cannot be resolved to any species of Argemone with assurance (Ownbey, 1958).

Flower of Coll. No. 1484, Argemone polyanthemos	Leaf-cutting bee cutting semi-circular segments from petals of Argemone polyanthemos.

Corydalis aurea Willd. “Scrambled Eggs”

The plant was first collected in Canada, and taken to the Berlin garden, grown there, and described by Willdenow (1809).

Scattered around Jefferson County, and widely distributed in Colorado in mountains and foothills, with a few found out in the plains, in places such as blow-out sand, or along streams.

Arabis pycnocarpa M. Hopkins var. pycnocarpa “Cream Flower Rockcress”

The name A. pycnocarpa M. Hopkins (1937) was proposed to separate a strictly American plants from the European name of A. hirsuta.

Boechera fendleri (S.Watson) W.A.Weber “Fendler's Rockcress”

The author has also seen it at Ranson/Edwards and there are several collections from Rocky Flats. Found in Colorado from the Front Range to the west, and also in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The type was collected by Augustus Fendler (no. 27, 1847) in New Mexico. The holotype is at GH, isotypes at K, MO, UC. Gray did not publish the name in Plantae Fendlerianae Novi-Mexicanae (Gray, 1849), nor did he refer to Fendler coll. no. 27. It was not published until Watson's (1878) revision of Gray's Syntopical Flora of North America.

Descurainia incisa (Engelm.) Britton “ Mountain Tansy Mustard”

Originally named Sisymbrium incisum Engelm. in Gray's (1849) Plantae Fendlerianae, it was placed in Descurainia by Britton, et al. (1894) as part of a larger effort to standardize nomenclature.

Coll. No. 2464, Descurainia incisa ssp. incisa

Descurainia pinnata (Walter) Britton “Western Tansymustard”

First named Erysimum pinnatum Walter (1788), Nuttall (1818) placed it in Sisymbrium, and finally consolidated as Descurainia pinnata (Walter) Britton (1892).

Draba reptans (Lam.) Fernald “Carolina Whitlow Grass”

The common name Whitlow Grass refers to members of the genus being formerly used to treat a viral infection of fingers and toes and comes from the Middle English whitflawe or “white flow.”

First placed in Arabis as A. reptans by Lamarck (1783), it bounced around until Fernald (1934) placed it in Draba.

Coll. No. 1376, Draba reptans

Erysimum asperum (Nutt.) DC. “Prairie Wallflower”

Collected thoughout Colorado, though more commonly along the northern Front Range and in southeast Colorado. Tends to occur more on prairies, sand dunes, roadsides, bluffs, sandhills along stream banks, knolls, and open plains. through west-central North America.

Less common in Golden s.l. than E. capitatum from which it differs by details of the fruit, or the position in which the fruit is held, but is more commonly found on hillsides, sry slopes, and meadows.

Erysimum capitatum (Hook.) Greene “Sanddune Wallflower”

First described by Douglas and published in Hooker (1829) as Chieranthus capitatus, and later moved to Erysimum capitatum by Greene (1891), who was then writing about the flora of middle California.

Coll. No. 2474, Erysimum capitatum

Noccaea fendleri (A. Gray) Holub ssp. glauca (A. Nelson) Al-Shehbaz & M. Koch “Alpine Pennycress”

Ours was first recognized by Aven Nelson (1896) in his First Report on the Flora of Wyoming as Thlaspi alpestre var. glaucum then elevated to by rank of species by Nelson (1898) when he had seen more material. It remained in Thlaspi until 1998 when phylogenetic work showed Noccaea to be a distinct species. Subsequent reorganizations placed our plant as a subspecies of Noccaea fendleri.

Physaria montana (A. Gray) Greene “Mountain Bladderpod”

First described as Vesicaria montana A. Gray from a Hall & Harbour collection. Watson (1888) placed the plant in Lesquerella a rather large genus in the Brassicaceae. Greene (1891) placed the plant in Physaria without referring to Watson's Lesquerella, perhaps he did not know of it. Greene's proposal was ignored, e.g., Gray (1895) Syntopical Flora of North America. Al-Shehbaz & O'Kane (2002) moved most Lesquerella to Physaria as indicated by phylogenetic analysis, thus elevating Greene's placement to the accepted name for the taxon.

Some synonyms of Physaria montana, specifically Vesicaria montana and Lesquerella montana, are treated as accepted names in the SEINet taxon tree. Searches for all three names are required to ensure that records for all vouchers are returned.

Rorippa palustris (L.) Besser “Bog Yellow-Cress”

Originally treated as a variety of Sisymbrium amphibium by Linnaeus (1753), it was elevated to rank of species by Leysser (1783), and moved to Rorippaby Besser (1822).

Rorippa sinuata (Nutt.) Hitchc. “Spreading Yellowcress”

It seems a little suspicious to me that there is one collection each of three different Rorippa in Golden s.l. Of course, mine is correctly identified.

Rorippa tenerrima Greene “Modoc Yellowcress”

The species was described by E. L. Greene (1895b) from collections made in Modoc County, California.

Turritis glabra L. “Tower Rockcress”

Cleomaceae Bercht. & J. Presl. — Bee Plant Family

Cleomella serrulata (Pursh) Roalson & J. C. Hall “Rocky Mountain Beeplant”

First described by Pursh (1814) from a Lewis & Clark collection, it was placed in Peritoma by deCandolle (1824). It resided there until phylogenetic data suggested it was best placed in Cleomella s.l. (Roalson, et al., 2015).

Polanisia dodecandra (L.) DC. “Sandyseed Clammyweed”

First named Cleome dodecandra L., then placed in Polanisia Raf. by deCandolle (1824).

Sedum lanceolatum Torr. “Spearleaf Stonecrop”

Sedum lanceolatum Torr. was first collected by Edwin James MD, botanist of the Stephen Long expedition of 1820. James did not record the collection in his diary, so we only know it was collected somewhere in Jefferson, Douglas, or El Paso Counties. John Torrey (1827) described the plant in his first account of plants collected on the Long expedition.

This little succulent has been collected throughout Jefferson County, though more intensely in the northern part of the county. The author has collected it at Ranson/Edwards, Clear Creek Canyon, and the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area. Colorado collections are mostly from the Front Range westward.

Jamesia americana Torr. & A. Gray “Fivepetal Cliffbush”

The plant was collected by Edwin James MD in 1820, but the location of the collection was not recorded. It could have been anywhere from Adams County south along the Front Range to Fremont County.

Heuchera parvifolia Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray “Littleleaf Alumroot”

Published by Torrey & A. Gray (1838) from a manuscript by Thomas Nuttall. Collections noted by Nuttall in the Blue Mountains of Oregon and by Dr. Edwin James in the Rocky Mountains.

Micranthes rhomboidea (Greene) Small “Diamondleaf Saxifrage”

Ribes aureum Pursh “Golden Currant”

Described by Pursh (1814) from Lewis & Clark collections and garden-grown specimens that he had seen.

Ribes cereum Douglas “Wax Currant”

Described by David Douglas (1830) from plants grown from seed he took to England in October 1827. He described the plant as occurring along the Columbia River from the Great Falls to the sources in the Rocky Mountains.

Amelanchier alnifolia (Nutt.) Nutt. ex M. Roem. “Saskatoon Serviceberry”

Around Golden, the author has collected A. alnifolia at North Table Mountain, Tin Cup Ridge, and Dakota Ridge. Loraine Yeatts made several collections at South Table Mountain, and there is one collection in Chimney Gulch by Hazel Schmoll. The specimens seen by the author are all quite small, usually on the order of one meter tall and the same in diameter.

There are also two collections of A. utahensis, one from Lookout Mountain, and one from “hog back near Golden.” This could be Dakota Ridge (North Hogback) or Tin Cup Ridge, the northward extension of Dinosaur Ridge into Golden. The author has not seen this serviceberry in Golden, but is familiar with it from collections made in eastern California.

Saskatoon Serviceberry has been collected sparingly around Jefferson County. In Colorado, it is found from the Rocky Mountain Front Range and in montainous areas to the west. On a national basis, be serviceberry is found in western North America.

Some authors, such as Ackerfield (2015), treat A. utahensis as a variety of A. alnifolia, explaining that the two taxa overlap in morphology and distribution, and that it can be difficult, if not impossible, to assign one name or the other to some specimens.

The author citation “(Nutt.) Nutt. Ex M. Roem.” is curious. It seems that Nuttall (1818) first published Aronia alnifolia Nutt. from plant he saw in 1811 near Fort Mandan. Then Nuttall (1834a) used the name Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt. from plants collected for him by Nathaniel Wyeth in 1833. It would seem that he accepted that the taxon should be in Amelanchier, but his simple listing of the name without specifying the basionym (a first name for the taxon) was an invalid naming, or nom. inval. It was not until Roemer (1847) that Amelanchier alnifolia was validly published from a description by Nuttall.

Coll. No. 2253, Amelanchier alnifolia	Habitat of Coll. No. 1800, Amelanchier alnifolia

Cercocarpus montanus Raf. “Alder-Leaf Mountain Mahogany”

Coll. No. 2270.1, Cercocarpus montanus in bloom.

Holodiscus dumosus (Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray) A. Heller “Rock Spiraea”

Most of the Jefferson County collections are near Golden, though there are two collections in southwest Jefferson County. More broadly in Colorado, it is found throughout the southern Rocky Mountains

To borrow from Kermit and Cookie Monster of Sesame Street, the hoped-for rectangle of nomenclature and taxonomy in Holodiscus is a wreck and a tangle. Weber & Wittmann (2012) accept only H. discolor, whereas Ackerfield (2015) accepts only H. dumosus. Meanwhile, Lis (2015) in his recently published treatment of Holodiscus in Flora of North America reduces H. dumosus to a variety of H. discolor. To be sure, the history of these names is a kind of mess, in part, for example, because Nuttall's manuscript describing H. dumosus was mentioned Torrey & Gray's (1838) Flora of North America but not published until 1847 in Hooker's London Journal of Botany.

I think similarly the common name of “Rock Spiraea” is unfortunate because it conflicts with the more-descriptive use of the same common name for Petrophytum caespitosum (Nutt.) Rydb.

Physocarpus monogynus (Torr.) J.M. Coult. “Mountain Ninebark”

Described by John Torrey (1828) as Spiraea monogyna from an Edwin James, MD, collection July 7, 1820, in ravines of the foothills of Sheep Canyon on the north side of South Platte Canyon. Placed in the genus Physocarpus by Coulter (1891)

Habitat of Physocarpus monogynus on North Table Mountain.	Coll. No. 1658, Physocarpus monogynus	Coll. No. 1397, Physocarpus monogynus

Potentilla fissa Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray “Bigflower Cinquefoil”

Published in Torrey & A. Gray's (1838) Flora of North America from an manuscript written by Thomas Nuttall. Recent phylogenetic work suggests that this is one of several Potentilla that should be treated as a Drymocallis.

Coll. No. 1911, Potentilla fissa

Potentilla rivalis Nutt. “Brook Cinquefoil”

Described in Torrey & A. Gray (1838) Flora of North America from a Thomas Nuttall manuscript. Nuttall gives the location as along the Lewis River. Both the present-day Snake River and the Salmon River have been called the Lewis River.

Ertter and Reveal (FNANM, 1993+) write in their discussion of Potentilla section Rivales that Potentilla rivalis is one of several similar-appearing Potentilla the others being P. norvegica, and P. supina. So similar that they have at times been placed in a single group, such as Tridophyllum (E. L. Greene, 1906). As it happens, I have collected all three species in northern Jefferson County, P. norvegica and P. rivalis on North Table Mountain, and P. rivalis and P. supina (ssp. paradoxa) at Ranson/Edwards Homestead Open Space Park. However, the physical similarity is not supported by molecular data, which instead scatters Potentilla norvegica, P. rivalis, and P. supina among the core Potentilla. Ertter and Reveal further state that existing herbarium annotations of P. biennis, P. rivales, and P. norvegica are not reliable, although the three species can be readily be readily distinduighed by the vestiture of proximal petioles and stems.

Coll. No. 1682.1, Potentilla rivalis	Ternate leaf of Coll. No. 1682.1, Potentilla rivalis

Prunus americana Marshall “American Plum”

Coll. No. 2443, Prunus americana

Astragalus agrestis Douglas ex G. Don. “Purple Milkvetch”

Jefferson County collections are on the plains at the base of the Front Range. At the Colorado state level, this milkvetch is found along the Front Range, a few out on the plains, and in the interior valleys of the mountains.

The plant was first described by George Don (1832) from a manuscript written by David Douglas. Historical herbarium records suggest the plant was first collected in Colorado by Hall & Harbour (their no. 139) and by Charles C. Parry in their expedition of 1862. We really don't know where in Colorado these collections were made.

Coll. No. 1398, Astragalus agrestis

Astragalus crassicarpus Nutt. “Groundplum Milkvetch”

First collected by Thomas Nuttall “ … above the River Platte … ” probably in 1811, it was published in a list of plants for sale from the garden of John Fraser in London (Nuttall, 1813).

Astragalus crassicarpus “Groundplum Milkvetch”	Habitat of Astragalus crassicarpus on North Table Mountain.

Astragalus drummondii Dougl. ex Hook. “Drummond's Milkvetch”

Jefferson County collections are mostly on the plains adjacent to the Rocky Mountains front range. Colorado collections are on the prairies and slopes of central Colorado.

Described by Hooker (1831) from a David Douglas collection and manuscript.

Fruit of Coll. No. 1141, Astragalus drummondii

Astragalus flexuosus G. Don “Flexible Milkvetch”

First described by George Don (1832), a Scottish botanist and plant collector, probably from plants grown from seed sent by David Douglas, collected near the Columbia River.

Jefferson County collections are from the northern part of the county, into the foothills as far as Centennial Cone. Colorado collections are generally from the foothills west and south, at lower elevations.

Astragalus laxmannii Jacq. var. robustior (Hook.) Barneby & S. L. Welsh “Prairie Milkvetch”

Jefferson County collections are along the Front Range and up into the foothills as far south as the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area. The Colorado distribution includes the Front Range, shortgrass prairie, and mountain valleys.

The species was first described by Jacquin (1776) and named for a patron of the Vienna Botanic Garden, Eric Laxmann. While Jacuin knew it from plants grown from seed from Imperial Russia, Pallas (1800) described it as A. adsurgens from Trans-Baikal to Mongolia. Hooker (1831) recognized the two species were the same, but left it as A. adsurgens while naming a variety robustior from the mountain valleys on the west slope of the Rocky Mountains using a manuscript by David Douglas. Barneby & Welsh (1996) published A. laxmannii var. robustior pertmiing us to use the A. laxmannii name of priority.

Astragalus parryi A. Gray “Parry's Milkvetch”

Astragalus shortianus Torr. & A. Gray “Short's Milkvetch”

The plant was described by Torrey & Gray (1840) from a manuscript by Thomas Nuttall. Nuttall saw it in the “Rocky Mountains, towards the plains of the Oregon.”

Dalea candida Willd. “White Prairie Clover”

Described by Wildenow (1800, t. 3, pt. 2, p. 1337) in his 4th edition of Linnaeus' Species Plantarum

Dalea purpurea Vent. “Purple Prairie Clover”

Jefferson County collections are generally along the base of the Front Range foothills. Colorado collections are also along the Front Range foothills and out on the plains, with a scattering of collections in the mountain valleys.

The plant was found in Illinois by Michaux, who sent seeds (or plants?) to Jacques Cels who cultivated foreign plants in Paris. Etienne P. Ventenat (1800) described the plants in Cels' garden, illusteated by Pierre-Joseph Redoute.

Inflorescence of Coll. No. 1197, Dalea purpurea

Glycyrrhiza lepidota Pursh “American Licorice”

Nuttall (1818) credits John Bradbury as first detecting this plant around Saint Louis. Though a name for the plant was first published by Nuttall (1813) this name is treated as invalid, and we use Pursh's (1814) name.

Coll. No. 1222, Glycyrrhiza lepidota

Ladeania lanceolata (Pursh) A. N. Egan & Reveal “Dune Scurfpea”

There is one other collection of this plant from Jefferson County, that of Lincoln Constance and Reed Rollins, made June 24, 1937, near Mount Morrison. Colorado collections are scattered around the plains and interior valleys, including northwest Colorado. The author has collected this plant at Alameda Well, Mono County, California, suggesting that it might be a Cordilleran plant, except that it is found out on the plains as far east as central Nebraska and Kansas.

The plant was first described by Pursh (1814) as Psoralea lanceolata. Then Rydberg (1919) moved it to Psoralidium lanceolatum. For a long time, the sheet described by Pursh (1814) was thought to be a Lewis & Clark collection. However, Reveal et al. (1999) showed that this sheet could only have been gathered by Thomas Nuttall in 1811. Egan & Reveal (2009) proposed Ladeania lanceolata to accommodate taxa left behind when Psoralidium tenuiflorum (Pursh) Rydberg was transferred to Pediomelum Rydberg because of previously published evidence on phylogenetic relationships.

Lathyrus eucosmus Butters & H. St. John “Bush Vetchling”

Mostly out on the plains away from the foothills. Colorado collections are mostly from Denver south and along the southern border of the state. The plant is mostly know from Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, with a few collections in Utah.

It was described by Butters & St. John (1917) in a paper that was (im my mind) intended to clarify relations between the various Lathyrus of the New World. While the type was designated as a collection by A. A. & E. Gertrude Heller, no. 3658, Santa Fe, New Mexico, the plant was also collected by Edwin James (1820) and A. Fendler (1847) both in New Mexico.

Lathyrus lanszwertii Kellogg “Lanszwert's Pea”

About half of the specimens from Jefferson County are determined variety leucanthus, whereas the remainder are undetermined to infraspecific names. The author collected one at Lippincott Ranch and put the variety name laetivirens (Greene ex Rydberg) S. L. Welsh on it. It is a question of the shape and length of the tendril.

Lupinus argenteus Pursh “Loosely Flowered Silver Lupine”

Jefferson County collections are found from the base of the Rocky Mountain foothills up into the Front Range. There was just one collection as far south as the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area. That collection is determined var. rubricaulis. In 2021, the author collected a small lupine along Morrison Creek that he thinks is variety fulvomaculatus. The Lupine is found throughout Colorado, except on the eastern plains. It is also found across the American Cordillera.

A Lewis & Clark collection on the Kooskoosky (Clearwater) River was described by Pursh (1814). Plants Of The World (Kew, 2022) accepts 8 varieties, five of which occur in Colorado, and a somewhat different five varieties occur in California.

Lupinus caudatus Kellogg “Kellogg's Spurred Lupine”

Of those collections of Lupinus caudatus in Jefferson County determined to an infraspecific name, nearly all are determined var. argophyllus. The name was first applied by A. Gray (1848) to a collection by Agustus Fendler in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1847.

It is looking like our variety argophyllus will be moving to L. argenteus Pursh from L. caudatus Kellogg (Allred, 2020).

Oxytropis lambertii Pursh “Purple Locoweed”

Described by Pursh (1814) from specimens (seeds) collected by Bradbury on the Missouri that Pursh saw growing in Lambert's garden.

Purple Locoweed (Oxytropis lambertii) on top of North Table Mountain.

Oxytropis sericea Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray “White Locoweed”

The plant was described in Torrey & A. Gray (1838) Flora of North America from a manuscript written by Thomas Nuttall.

Jefferson County collections are mostly from the base of the Front Range, with one at Flying J Ranch. Colorado collections are scattered around the state from the far eastern plains, to mountain valleys, and northwest Colorado.

Pediomelum tenuiflorum (Pursh) A. N. Egan “Slimflower Scurfpea”

Psoralidium tenuiflorum (Pursh) Rydberg, until molecular genetic data showed that it really belonged in Pediomelum tenuiflorum (Pursh) A. N. Egan & Reveal (2009). Colorado collections are found mostly from the base of the Front Range east across the plains.

Pediomelum tenuiflorum

Thermopsis rhombifolia var. divaricarpa (A. Nelson) Isely “Spreadfruit Goldenbanner”

There are three different forms of this plant in Colorado, distinguished by the shape of the fruit. Sometimes the three forms are treated as varieties of a single species, sometimes as species in their own right. In Golden s.l., the fruit sticks straight out from the stem, or is maybe curved upwards slightly. This would be the form divaricarpa, originally proposed by Aven Nelson (1898). Our current Flora of Colorado (Ackerfield, 2015) treats divaricarpa as a variety of Thermopsis rhombifolia.

Thermopsis rhombifolia var. divaricarpa, in flower, no fruit yet.	Patch of Thermopsis rhombifolia var. divaricarpa, Coll. No. 1347.

Vicia americana Willd. “American Vetch”

Vicia ludoviciana Nutt. “Louisiana Vetch”

The plant was first described by Torrey & A. Gray (1838) from a manuscript by Thomas Nuttall. Nuttall collected the plant on the Red River, but also refers to Mr. Tainturier, a resident of New Orleans who corresponded with Hooker (Ewan, 2005). A Dr. Leavenworth also sent some material from Texas to Torrey & A. Gray

Geranium caespitosum James “Pineywoods Geranium”

First recognized by Edwin James, M.D., botanist on the Stephen H. Long expedition of 1820, and named G. caespitosum in James (1823), it has eleven synonyms at the specific rank, and another ten infraspecific names (POWO, Kew, 2022). In Colorado we do not accept infraspecific names for this species.

This Geranium is broadly distributed in North America, from Wyoming to Mexico, and Nevada to Texas.

Geranium richardsonii Fisch. & Trautv. “Richardson's Geranium”

It is typically found in the lower foothills in the Front Range of Jefferson County, including the Lost Creek area of the southern county. Colorado collections are in the mountain areas of the state, and thus exclude to plains and the extreme northwestern and southwestern area. This geranium is found across the American Cordillera, and the author has collected it in the mouth of Lundy Canyon, Mono County, California.

First named G. albiflorum, by Hooker (1830) that name was unavailable because it was previously used by Ledebour (1829) for a Geranium in the Altai. Fischer & Trautvetter (1838) applied a name in honor of Sir John Richardson to it in 1838.

Linum lewisii Pursh “Prairie Blue Flax”

Nevertheless, Jefferson County collections of Linum that are determined L. lewisii are mostly along the base of the Front Range, with a few in the interior valleys. Colorado collections are in the mountain valleys and along the Front Range, with a very few collections on the plains.

L. lewisii was described by Pursh (1814) from a collection by Lewis & Clark, although Pursh noted that he described the plant from a live specimen, perhaps one growing in Lambert's garden.

Chamaesyce fendleri (Torr. & A.Gray) Small “Fendler's Sandmat”

The type was collected by Dr. J. M. Bigelow at “Big Springs of the Colorado,” collecting for the Pacific Railroad Survey in 1853, and described by Torrey & Gray (1857). This location is now known as Big Spring, Howard County, Texas, between Midland and Abilene. Dr. A. Gray had seen this plant in Fendler's New Mexico collections (his no. 800) but he did not describe any Euphorbia from Fendler's collections. Small (1903) moved this and several otherChamaesyce from Euphorbia.

Chamaesyce glyptosperma (Engelm.) Small “Ribseed Sand Mat”

Described by George Engelmann, M.D. as Euphorbia glyptosperma in Torrey (1859). Moved to Chamaesyce without comment by Small (1903).

KHD63968 voucher of Coll. No. 1550.5, Chamaesyce glyptosperma.

Euphorbia brachycera Engelm. “Horned Spurge”

The plant was described by George Engelmann in the Mexican Boundary Survey report by Torrey (1859). Engelmann cited a collection by Charles Wright in western New Mexico.

Jefferson County collections are mostly concentrated in the northern part of the county, just up into the foothills as far as Evergreen. Colorado collections are mostly from the Front Range westward, plus a few in the Pawnee National Grassland.

Euphorbia dentata Michx. “Toothed Spurge”

This spurge was first described by Michaux (1803) from plants found near Nashville, Tennessee. Placed by Weber & Wittmann (2012) in Poinsettia with the notation of alien, ruderal weed, whereas Ackerfield (2015) treats it as a possibly native Euphorbia.

Jefferson County collections are all right along the Front Range. Colorado collections are mainly from the Front Range east across the plains.

Euphorbia marginata Pursh “Snow on the Mountain”

Colorado collections are mostly on the plains, with just a few collections up in the mountains.

This was a Lewis & Clark collection (28 July 1806), described by Pursh (1814, v. 2., p. 607).

Euphorbia spathulata Lam. “Warty Spurge” or “Spoonleaf Spurge”

Collection of this little spurge were made along the base of the Front Range and just slightly into the foothills of northern Jefferson County. Colorado collections are few in number, mostly along the northern Front Range and then scattered in south-central and southwest Colorado.

Warty Spurge's native distribution is North and South America. It was described by Lamarck from a collection in “Monte-Video,” by which I assume is meant Montevideo, Uruguay.

Tragia ramosa Torr. “Branched Noseburn”

The plant was first described by John Torrey (1828) from collections by Edwin James, MD., botanist on the Stephen H. Long expedition of 1820. Also noted by Torrey (1859) in his report on the botany of the Mexican Boundary Survey.

Rhus trilobata Nutt. “Skunkbush”

First collected in the Rocky Mountains by Thomas Nuttall in 1834, it was described by Nuttall, then published by Torrey and Gray (1838) in their Flora of North America.

R. trilobata is sometimes reduced to the rank of variety or, once, subspecies under R. aromatica Aiton. See for example Watson (1871), Weber (1989), and Baldwin et al. (2012). Other authors retain R. trilobata at the rank of species, such as Barkley (1937) and our current Flora of Colorado (Ackerfield, 2015). Recent papers (Yi, et al., 2007 and Andres-Hernandez, et al., 2014) about the phylogeny of Rhus determined from molecular and structural data analyze both R. aromatica and R. trilobata as distinct species. While the studies show the two species to be closely related, the studies also show they are no more closely related than others, such as R. integrifolia and R. ovata.

Rhus trilobata at the southern end of the Survey Field.	Rhus trilobata at Ranson/Edwards.

Toxicodendron rydbergii (Small ex Rydb.) Greene “Western Poison Ivy”

First described as Rhus Rydbergii Small and published by Per Axel Rydberg (1900) in his Catalogue of the Flora of Montana and Yellowstone National Park. Greene (1905) resurrected Miller's (1754) genus of Toxicodendron and moved many Rhus American plants there.

Acer glabrum Torr. “Rocky Mountain Maple”

Sphaeralcea coccinea (Nutt.) Rydb. “Scarlet Globemallow”

Collected first by Lewis & Clark in 1806 along the Marias River, Montana on their return from the Pacific Coast (Moulton, 1999). Collected again by Nuttall in 1811 along the Missouri River north to Fort Mandan. It was Nuttall's collection published first in Fraser's (1813) Catalogue as Malva coccinea.

Sphaeralcea on the lowest slopes of North Table Mountain.

Hybanthus verticillatus (Ortega) Baill. “Baby Slippers”

The plant was first described as Viola verticillata (Ortega, 1797) from specimens grown at the Royal Gardens of Madrid using seeds sent from Mexico by D. Sesse. Baillon (1873) reorganized the Violaceae and placed our plant in Hybanthus, a genus that is highly polyphyletic. Phylogenetic work begun by Wahlert, et al. (2014) show that reorganization is necessary and that additional phylogenetic work is needed. Paula-Souza and Ballard (2014) began that work by re-establishing Pombalia and transferring our Hybanthus verticillata to it.

Mentzelia albicaulis (Douglas ex Hook.) Douglas ex Torr. & A. Gray “White-Stem Blazing Star”

First described by Hooker (1834) from a manuscript by David Douglas as Bartonia albicaulis, then by Torrey & A. Gray (1840) again from a manuscript by David Douglas, perhaps the same, or a copy of the same, manuscript.

Mentzelia dispersa S. Watson “Bushy Blazing Star”

The first recognition of M. dispersa as an entity was Watson (1871) who proposed M. albicaulis var. integrifolia S. Watson, from collections in Nevada and Utah, and a Hall & Harbour collection from Colorado. Five years later, Watson (1876) published M. dispersa as a new species, citing collections from Washington Territory to Colorado and southward, including Yosemite Valley and Isla Guadalupe, Mexico.

Mentzelia multiflora (Nutt.) A. Gray “Adonis Blazing Star”

Farther afield in Jefferson County it has been found in Genesee Park and Centennial Cone Open Space.

First published by Nuttall (1848b) from plants collected by William Gambel along the Rio Grande near Santa Fé, New Mexico. Nuttall (1848) placed this taxon in Bartonia, which is probably the Bartonia of Muhl. ex Willd. (1801) and not the Bartonia of Pursh (1812). Bartonia is still used as one of five section names of Mentzelia (Hufford, et al., 2017).

Gray (1849) in Plantæ Fendleriana, a partial catalogue of plants collected by Augustus Fendler in 1847, placed this taxon in Mentzelia multiflora (Nutt.) A. Gray.

Most authors retain all the Mentzelia s.l. in a single name (Ackerfield, 2015, and Hufford, et al., 2017). An exception is Weber & Wittmann (2012) who segregate most of the Colorado “Mentzelia” into the genus Nuttallia Raf., some into Acrolasia and only one into Mentzelia

Mentzelia nuda (Pursh) Torr. & A. Gray “Bractless Blazing Star”

Mentzelia speciosa Osterh. “Plains Blazing Star”

The plant was first named M. aurea by George Osterhout (1901a) from a collection he made in Estes Park. However this name was previously used by Nuttall and was thus illegitimate, so a month later, Osterhout (1901b) proposed M. speciosa.

Coryphantha missouriensis (Sweet) Britton & Rose “Missouri Foxtail Cactus”

The “Missouri” name refers to the Missouri River that was a thoroughfare of transportation during the early 19th century, long before the State of Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1821.

Coryphantha vivipara (Nutt.) Britton & Rose “Beehive Cactus”

First collected by Nuttall near the Mandan villages and published in Fraser's (1813) Catalogue. Subject to some confusion about recognition of species because it's form varies widely over a broad distribution, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, it was placed in Coryphantha vivipara by Britton & Rose (1913). Since then, it has bounced back and forth between Coryphantha and Escobaria several times, but for now Colorado authors (Ackerfield, 2015; Weber & Wittmann, 2012) accept Coryphantha vivipara.

Small Corypantha vivipara in bloom beside Utah Highway 21	Obs. No. 1553, Coryphantha vivipara

Echinocereus viridiflorus Engelm. “Nylon Hedgehog Cactus”

Found in the intensely-collected places of Jefferson County, such as Rocky Flats and Chatfield Farms. Common on the plains and mountain valleys of eastern Colorado.

Recognized as a new genus and species and published by George Engelmann (1848) from collections made at Santa Fe and on the Santa Fe Trail at Wolf Creek by Agustus Fendler in 1847.

Obs. No. 1471, Echinocereus viridiflorus

Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm. “Western Pricklypear”

“Western Pricklypear” — Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm. — has been found on North and South Table Mountains, Dakota Ridge, North Washington Open Space, and the Survey Field. The pricklypear has been found in all the intensely-collected localities in Jefferson County. It is probably more common that the number of collections (n=17) would indicate; collecting these cacti is a difficult and prickly activity. Most of the collections are along the Front Range and foothills with a few collections in the Colorado mountain valleys.

This cactus was first described by George Engelmann (1850) from a collection by F. Lindheimer on the Guadalupe River of west Texas. Some manuals apply a common name of “Twistspine Pricklypear.” I do not perceive the spines to be twisted, at least not in the sense that the awns of some grasses are twisted, and think that Ackerfield's (2015) use of “Western Pricklypear” would be preferred. Observations of O. compressa are assumed to be O. macrorhiza.

Coll. No. 2371, Opuntia macrorhiza	Obs. No. 1540, Opuntia macrorhiza	Coll. No. 1948, Opuntia macrorhiza

Opuntia polyacantha Haw. “Plains Pricklypear”

First recognized as a species by Thomas Nuttall (1818) in his Genera of North American Plants as Cactus ferox, although that name was not available because it had been previously used by Willdenow (1814). Haworth (1819) provided a valid name, citing both Nuttall's name and a specimen grown in the Physic Garden of Chelsea along the Thames River in London.

Obs. No. 1427, Opuntia polyacantha	Coll. No. 2445, Opuntia polyacantha

Pediocactus simpsonii (Engelm.) Britton & Rose “Mountain Ball Cactus”

The cactus was named for Captain J. H. Simpson who led an expedition to Utah Territory in 1859. Collections were made in Butte Valley and Kobeh Valley of today's Nevada by Henry Engelmann, and named by his brother, George Engelmann (1863). A variety was collected at Mount Vernon, Jefferson County, by Parry, Hall and Harbour, though the variety is not currently accepted because the cactus is highly variable throughout its range.

Pediocactus simpsonii (Nutt.) Haw.

Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub. “Fireweed”

This is a circumpolar species, first published by Linnaeus (1753) as Epilobium angustifolium, placed in Chamerion by Holub (1972), but some of the more recent literature are treating the plant as an Epilobium.

Circaea alpina L. “Small Enchanter's Nightshade”

Epilobium L. “Willow-Herb”

Epilobium brachycarpum C. Presl “Autumn Willow Herb”

Reliquiae Haenkeanae, published by Presl (1830-1835) was based on botanical specimens collected in the Americas by Thaddaeus Haenke.

Epilobium ciliatum Raf. “Fringed Willowherb”

The name was published by Rafinesque (1808) in a publication — Medical Repository — that I have not been able to find online.

Oenothera L

The four caespitose or acaulis Oenothera are:

• O. albicaulis
• O. brachycarpa
• O. caespitosa
• O. howardii

Oenothera albicaulis Pursh “Whitest Evening Primrose”

The name was first proposed by Nuttall (1813) for a plant he collected on the Missouri, though we now treat this name as invalid because there was no description, or means to distinguish this Oenothera from any other. Pursh (1813) published the name again citing Nuttall's name, and also acknowledgeing a collection by Bradbury.

Oenothera brachycarpa A. Gray “Short-Fruit Evening Primrose”

Not accepted in Colorado by Weber & Wittmann (2012) or Ackerfield (2015), accepted by Harrington (1964, 2nd ed.).

First described by Gray (1852) from collections by Wright in west Texas.

Oenothera cespitosa Nutt. “Tufted Evening Primrose”

The caespitose Oenothera at Rocky Flats have been O. howardii and O. flava. At Chatfield O. albicaulis, O. brachycarpa, and O. howardii have been collected. The species seems to be found primarily in the American Cordillera and western Great Plains.

First collected and described by Nuttall in Fraser's (1813) Catalogue who does not identify the location of his collections, though it was likely on the upper Missouri River. This is one of Nuttall's names that have stood the test of time.

Oenothera coronopifolia Torr. & A. Gray “Crownleaf Evening Primrose”

Collected by Edwin James, MD, probably near the forks of the Platte River, and described by Torrey & Gray (1840) in their Flora of North America.

Oenothera curtiflora W.L. Wagner & Hoch “Velvet Butterfly-Weed”

There is an error in Ackerfield (2015) Flora of Colorado in that our plant is named O. curtifolia whereas the correct name is O. curtiflora.

Notwithstanding some controversy, the first name applied to this plant was Gaura mollis James. Goodman & Lawson (1995) explain that James published his name a few months before Gaura mollis HBK. I assume that Oenothera mollis was not available because of Oenothera mollissima L.

Oenothera howardii (A. Nels.) W. L. Wagner “Howard's Evening Primrose”

The name was first used by Jones (1893) though in an invalid way. This was fixed by Nelson (1902) as Lavauxia howardii. Placed back in Oenothera by Wagner (1983).

Oenothera nuttallii Sweet “Nuttall's Evening Primrose”

First intended to be O. albicaulis Nuttall (1813), though this is considered nom. inval.. Then, Pursh (1814) published O. albicaulis for a different plant, and listed Nuttall's name in error as a synonym. Sweet (1830) corrected this and published the plant as O. nuttallii.

Oenothera suffrutescens (Ser.) W. L. Wagner & Hoch “Linda Tarde”

Oenothera villosa Thunb. “Hairy Evening Primrose”

The plant was described by Thunberg (1794) from Cape of Good Hope, Africa, where it was introduced, though its native range is Subarctic America to U.S.A.

Aralia nudicaulis L. “Wild Sarsaparilla”

Aletes acaulis (Torr.) J.M. Coult. & Rose “Stemless Indian Parsley”

Finding a appropriate name for this plant was quite a challenge and, at one time, it was known simultaneously by names in three different genera, all published by A. Gray. For this reason Coulter & Rose (1888) published a new genus just for this species.

Unfortunately, recent phylogenetic work (Sun & Downie, 2010) suggests that Aletes and associated taxa of Lomatium, Cymopteris, and Musineon are in quite a muddle, and we may soon see a reorganization.

Coll. No. 1321, Aletes acaulis

Harbouria trachypleura (A. Gray) J.M. Coult. & Rose “Whiskbroom Parsley”

Ligusticum porteri J.M. Coult. & Rose “Porter's Licorice-Root”

Not rated for rariety by CNHP. Rated as S2 – Imperiled, by NatureServe. Global status G3 – Vulnerable.

Lomatium orientale J.M. Coult. & Rose “Salt-and-Pepper”

This is a very common early perennial in Golden s.l. that has been collected pretty much everywhere from Dakota Ridge in the north to Tin Cup Ridge in the south.

Musineon divaricatum (Pursh) Raf. “Leafy Wildparsley”

First recognized by Pursh (1814) from a collection by Bradbury “… in upper Louisiana.”

Cornus sericea L. “Creek Dogwood”

Described by Linnaeus (1771) as being native to North America, it has an amazing 71 synonyms (Kew, 2022). C. sericea itself is sometimes treated as a synonym of C. alba. Some cultivars are planted for their bright red stems in winter and have a common name of “red-osier dogwood.”

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Sprengel “Bearberry”

Bearberry is more common in the interior of Jefferson County. For example the author has collected it on the slopes of Little Scraggy Peak (Buffalo Creek Recreation Area) and at Goose Creek. In Colorado, it is a common forest groundcover and is found throughout the mountain ranges of Colorado.

Orthilia secunda (L.) House “Sidebells Wintergreen”

The plant was first described as Pyrola secundus by Linnaeus (1753) then separated into Orthilia by House (1921) as a nomenclatural change without explanation.

The Colorado distribution is mountainous areas of Colorado.

Pyrola asarifolia Michx. “Liverleaf Wintergreen”

The plant was firest described by Michaux (1803).

Androsace occidentalis Pursh “Western Rockjasmine”

Described by Pursh (1814) from a collection by Nuttall on the banks of the Missouri River.

Androsace septentrionalis L. “Pygmyflower Rockjasmine”

According to Linnaeus (1753), “She lives in the sunny pebbly Alps of Lapland, Russia.” Plants of the World (Kew, 2022) states that its native range is temperate northern hemisphere.

Dodecatheon pulchellum (Raf.) Merr. “Beautiful Shootingstar”

The naming of our plant went through several gyrations, with characters such as Drummond, Michaux, Hooker, Rafinesque, Greene, and Rydberg involved, ending with Merrill's (1948) Nomenclatural Notes on Rafinesque's Published Papers, 1804-1840.

Lysimachia ciliata L. “Fringed Loosestrife”

Described by Linnaeus (1753) from locations in Virginia and Canada.

Eustoma grandiflorum (Raf.) Shinners “Showy Prairie Gentian”

Some sources, e.g., POWO (Kew, 2022) treat E. grandiflorum as a synonym of E. russellianum (Hook.) G. Don, the question appearing to one of priority of Hooker's name over Rafinesque's name.

Frasera speciosa Griseb. “Elkweed”

Apocynum cannabinum L. “Indian Hemp”

Apocynum ×floribundum Greene “Dogbane”

The plant was first recognized by Greene (1893) from specimens in the southern Sierra Nevada of Kern County, California. It has been described as a variety of A. cannabinum by Jepson (1939). and as a variety of A. medium by Munz (1965). The Jepson Manual of California (Baldwin, 2012) treats it as a synonym of A. androsaemifolium.

Asclepias incarnata L. “Swamp Milkweed”

Asclepias pumila (A. Gray) Vail “Plains Milkweed”

First described as a depauperate or dwarf form of A. verticillata L. by Gray (1876). This makes a lot of sense because the leaves are whorled, a fairly uncommon character of milkweeds. Britton & Brown (1898) elevated variety pumila to the rank of species without comment.

Asclepias speciosa Torr. “Showy Milkweed”

First described by John Torrey (1828) from a collection by Edwin James, MD. The type was collected on June 14, 1820, as the Stephen H. Long expedition traveled south from the Loup River to the Platte through Merrick County, Nebraska (Goodman and Lawson, 1995, p. 130-131).

Seed pod of Asclepias speciosa	Seed of Asclepias speciosa

Asclepias viridiflora Raf. “Green Comet Milkweed”

There are two similarly named milkweeds, e.g., A. viridis and A. viridula, but those two species are not known from Colorado.

A. viridiflora has been seen in flower in Apex about the 10th of June, and in fruit on North Table Mountain near the end of July.

Fruit of Asclepias definitely, maybe A. viridiflora

Evolvulus nuttallianus Roem. & Schult. “Shaggy Dwarf Morning Glory”

It may come as a surprise, then, that there is also a small native perennial morning-glory that is common in sandy places on the plains and found occasionally in the lower foothills. It is the “Shaggy Dwarf Morning Glory” (Evolvulus nuttallianus). Found first by Thomas Nuttall in 1811 on the banks of the Missouri River, it was first named E. argenteus by Frederick Pursh (1814) in his North American Flora. However, the name was previously published by Robert Brown (1810) in his natural history of Australia and Tasmania, then called New Holland and Van Dieman's Land, respectively. Therefore, Pursh's name was illegitimate. Roemer & Schultes (1820) rectified this when they published volume 6 of the 16th edition of Linneaus' Systema Vegetabilium, by applying a new name of E. nuttalianus after, of course, the name of the original collector, Thomas Nuttall.

The first collection in Colorado was made by George Vasey of Powells Colorado Exploring Expedition of 1868. There are vouchers at PRBU, NY, and SJNM (SEINet, 2020). It is not known where in Colorado the collection was made.

In Jefferson County, there are seven collections, one of which is mine from the North Washington Open Space. Loraine Yeatts collected the plant on South Table Mountain in 1983. Four collections were made at Rocky Flats, probably the best studied piece of ground in Jefferson County, and there is one collection from Chatfield.

Flower of Coll. No. 2319, Evolvulus nuttallianus	Coll. No. 2319, Evolvulus nuttallianus

Aliciella pinnatifida (Nutt. ex A.Gray) J.M.Porter “Sticky Gilia”

First described as Gilia pinnatifida by Asa Gray (1870) in his Revision of the Polemoniaceae (Phlox family) from a Nuttall collection in Gray's herbarium. There must have been some description written by Nuttall for Gray to give credit to Nuttall. The oldest known extant collection was by Frémont 1842 from the Torrey Herbarium (NY3261962). The oldest collection in the Gray Herbarium is by Fendler 16 June 1847 (GH1154924). This collection was designated as a lectotype by Porter 15 January 2002. Moved to a recircumscribed Aliciella by Porter (1998) because molecular data showed the group was more closely allied to Loeselia and Ipomopsis than to Gilia. Aliciella, by the way, is named for Colorado's Alice Eastwood.

Collomia linearis Nutt. “Tiny Trumpet”

Nuttall (1818) proposed both the genus and specific name, and they have withstood the test of time.

Gilia ophthalmoides Brand “Pinyon Gilia”

Three collections are possibly G. ophthalmoides, one each by Marcus E. Jones (1878), Ira W. Clokey (1921), and Ellsworth Bethel (1921). All three simply give the location as “Golden.” Other Jefferson County collections were made at Rocky Flats and around Morrison. So the locations could all be characterized as along the base of the Front Range. At the state level, there are other collections along the Front Range, but our plant is more common on the west slope.

G. ophthalmoides was described by A. Brand in Engler's (1907) Das Pflanzenreich from a collection by Carl A. Purpus made in washes at Gold Mountain, 1898. An image of this voucher is available online.

Gilia sinuata Benth. “Rosy Gilia”

Published by Bentham in DeCandolle (1845) from a manuscript by Douglas. The type locality is the Okanagon Valley, where our plant is thought to now be extinct.

Ipomopsis aggregata (Pursh) V. E. Grant ssp. aggregata

Ipomopsis aggregata (Pursh) V. E. Grant ssp. candida (Rydb.) V. E. Grant & A. D. Grant “Scarlet Gilia”

The species was first described by Pursh (1814) from a Lewis & Clark collection in Idaho. Rydberg (1901) described the subspecies at the rank of species from a collection made near La Veta, Animas County, Colorado. Grant (1956) reduced our plant to rank of subspecies under Ipomopsis aggregata without comment.

Ipomopsis spicata (Nutt.) V.E. Grant “Spiked Ipomopsis”

A little more broadly, there are collections in Jefferson County from the extensively-collected localities of Rocky Flats and Chatfield.

First described as Gilia spicata by Nuttall (1848b) from a collection on the Platte River at Scott's Bluff, Nebraska.

Microsteris gracilis (Douglas ex Hook.) Greene “Slender Phlox”

Originally described by David Douglas from specimens seen along the Spokane River, published variously by Hooker as Colomia gracilis, Gilia gracilis, and Phlox gracilis. Greene (1898b) made sense of them and proposed Microsteris gracilis.

Phlox longifolia Nutt. “Longleaf Phlox”

It is always a little suspicious when two uncommon, similar-appearing species are found in close proximity, and nowhere else. It is possible that one or more of the collections are misidentified and that only one species is found at this location. In this case, I think the single voucher determined P. longifolia is actually P. multiflora and I have changed my records. However, the voucher needs to be reviewed in the herbarium and a determination made whether to retain the determination P. longifolia or annotate it as P. multiflora.

Phlox multiflora A. Nelson “Mountain Phlox”

Coll. No. 1814, Phlox, tentatively determined as P. multiflora.	Coll. No. 1653, Phlox multiflora

Polemonium foliosissimum A. Gray “Towering Jacob's Ladder”

Treated as a variety of P. caeruleum by Gray (1870), this plant was well-known to a variety of collectors, such as Geyer, Fendler, Parry, Vasey, Watson, &c. Then elevated to the rank of species by Gray (1878). The oldest extant collection (SEINet 2022) is from the Mexican Boundary Survey, Bigelow s.n., October 1851 (7?), Banks of the Mimbres, New Mexico, .

Cryptantha virgata (Porter) Payson “Miner"s Candle”

The basionym is Eritrichium virgatum Porter, first published in F. V.Hayden, Geol. Rep. (1870), citing a collection by B. H. Smith, near Denver, Colorado Territory, in 1869. It has been placed variously in Krynitzkia (A. Gray, 1885) and Oreocarya (Greene, 1887) before being placed in Cryptantha (Payson, 1927). Our Colorado authors, Weber & Wittmann (2012) and Ackerfield (2015), treat Oreocarya at the rank of genus, whereas others (Kelley, Simpson, and Hasenstab-Lehman in Baldwin, et al., 2012) treat it as a section of Cryptantha. Phylogenetic evidence from some of those same authors is accumulating that it makes better sense to treating it as Oreocarya, c.f., Mabry & Simpson (2018).

Cryptantha virgata beside the Nightbird Gulch Trail.

Ellisia nyctelea (L.) L. “Aunt Lucy”

The specific epithet nyctelea is credited to Linnaeus, from collections made in Virginia, though it took Linnaeus and other botanists of his time a couple tries to get it placed in the correct family and genus.

Heliotropium curassavicum L. “Seaside Heliotrope”

It was commonly grown in the pre-Linnaean gardens of Europe and described by Linnaeus (1753) as living in the warm maritime regions of America.

Hydrophyllum fendleri (A. Gray) A. Heller “Fendler's Waterleaf”

First published as Hydrophyllum occidentale var. Fendleri by A. Gray (1875), Heller (1905) revised fendleri to the rank of species.

Lappula occidentalis (S. Watson) Greene “Flatspine Stickseed”

The few Jefferson County collections of Lappula occidentalis that have been determined to an infraspecific name have been determined a mix of variety occidentalis and variety cupulata (A. Gray) Higgins.

Lithospermum incisum Lehm. “Narrowleaf Stoneseed”

The first recorded collection was by Thomas Nuttall at Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. This was most likely in 1810. Nuttall also recorded the plant along the upper Missouri River, which would have been in 1811. Pursh (1814) was the first to put the plant in print, as Batschia longiflora, noting that he had seen the plant in in Nuttall's herbarium. Nuttall (1818) published the same name as a new species. Lehman (1818) moved the plant to Lithospermum, but the specific name longiflora was not available, so Lehman used L. incisum.

Lithospermum occidentale (Mack.) Weakley, Witsell & D. Estes “Western Gromwell” nee “Marbleseed”

Searching for historic collections can be tricky with this taxon. Two reasons. First, it is often included as a subspecific taxon under both Onosmodium bejariense and O. molle without a cross-reference between the two, so a search for the species must be entered under both of those specific epithets. (It is also sometimes treated as a variety and sometimes as a subspecies, without cross-reference in the taxon trees, but searching only for the specific epithet in Colorado will circumvent that problem.) Second, it has recently been moved into Lithospermum from Onosmodium (Weakley, et al., 2011) and some of the taxon trees, most notably that of SEINet, have not been updated to cross reference between it multiple names in Onosmodium and Lithospermum. Consequently, when constructing a list of collections of this taxon (regardless of what name we put on it), it is necessary to enter all the names above into the search string to retrieve all the known collections.

Searching for the taxon under multiple names yields 24 collections in Jefferson County, mostly from locations that have been intensely collected, such as Rocky Flats and Chatfield Farms, but also Ranson/Edwards and one collection from the Majestic View Nature Center. Around Colorado, most of the collections have been made along the Front Range with a few collections out on the plains and in the interior valleys.

As implied above, quite a few names have been applied to our taxon, most of them in Onosmodium. The first name that recognized it as a separate taxon was Onosmodium occidentale Mack. (Mackenzie, 1905). It was since placed in a succession of subspecies and varieties under Onosmodium bejariense and O. molle. Weigend, et al. (2009) with their aptly named paper, “Marbleseeds are Gromwells,” showed that separating Onosmodium and other taxa from Lithospermum renders the latter paraphyletic. Weakley, et al. (2011) published the names requred to place our plant back at the species rank, this time within Lithospermum in place of Onosmodium.

Coll. No. 2107, Lithospermum occidentale

Mertensia lanceolata (Pursh) DC. “Prairie Bluebells”

The first name applied to “Prairie Bluebells” was Pulmonaria lanceolata Pursh (1814), described from a collection he had seen in Bradbury's herbarium. Nuttall (1818) did not agree with the specific epithet lanceolata saying that it was inapplicable, so he attempted to replace it with marginata. Of course, this failed because lanceolata had priority, regardless of how inapplicable it might be. Nuttall (1818) did note, however, that the plant belonged in Pulmonaria section Mertensia, a name that DeCandolle (1846) elevated to the rank of genus.

Phacelia heterophylla Pursh “Varileaf Phacelia”

The name was published by Pursh (1814) from a collection by Lewis & Clark on the Kooskooskee (Clearwater) River.

Plagiobothrys scouleri (Hook. & Arn.) I.M. Johnst. var. hispidulus (Greene) Dorn “Scouler's popcornflower”

Dracocephalum parviflorum Nutt. “American Dragonhead”

Lycopus americanus W. P. C. Barton “American Bugleweed”

The name was first applied by Muhlenberg (1813), though this is treated as nom. inval because there was no description, and no means given to distinquish L. americanus from L. virginicus. Barton (1815) published the name again, citing Muhlenberg, but also noting the plant was “Very closely related to Mentha, but no odor” and “leaves sinuate-serrate, apendiculate.” I have been unable to determine what parts of the plant are appendiculate.

Mentha arvensis L. “Wild Mint”

Described by Linnaeus (1753) as “She lives in the European countryside frequently after harvest.”

Monarda fistulosa L. “Wild Bergamot”

The plant was first described by Linnaeus (1753) who noted that it lived in Canada. It was well-known in Europe as Linnaeus noted its presense in the Uppsala garden, the Clifford garden, and the Royal Garden of Leiden.

Jefferson County collections are found throughout the county. Colorado collections are mostly along the Front Range and in the interior valleys.

Monarda pectinata Nutt. “Plains Beebalm”

Described by Nuttall (1848b) from plants collected by William Gambel. Gambel made this collection near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Coll. No. 2349, Monarda pectinata	Coll. No. 1236, Monarda pectinata

Prunella vulgaris L. “Common Selfheal”

Salvia reflexa Hornemann “Lanceleaf Sage”

Scutellaria brittonii Porter “Britton's Skullcap”

This skullcap is broadly distributed in Jefferson County. The author has also collected it at the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area. State-wide, collections are mostly from the base of the Front Range up to the mid-elevations.

The name, in honor of Nathaniel L. Britton, was applied to our Rocky Mountain plant by Porter (1894) in a curious way, by describing what it is not; something that I would think would cause the name to be declared invalid. Nevertheless, as it happens, Nathaniel L. Britton was in Golden, 8 Oct 1882, primarily as part of a geological expedition, and made eleven plant collections that are housed by NY.

Physalis longifolia Nutt. “Longleaf Groundcherry”

Nuttall (1834) described P. longifolia from a collection made on the banks of the Arkansas, near Belle Point.

Physalis virginiana Mill. “Virginia Groundcherry”

Solanum triflorum Nutt. “Cutleaf Nightshade”

Castilleja integra A. Gray “Wholeleaf Indian Paintbrush”

The name was applied by A. Gray in Torrey (1859). Curiously, Gray cited several collections in his description of the taxon, resulting in several syntypes instead of a holotype.

Coll. No. 1865, Castilleja integra

Orobanche fasciculata Nutt. “Clustered Broomrape”

Other collections in Jefferson County include Rocky Flats and Chatfield Farms, two of the best-collected places in Colorado, and a few other collections up into the foothills. Collected pretty much throughout Colorado, except for the southeastern plains.

Named by Nuttall (1818) for plants he collected around Fort Mandan on the Missouri River. Nuttall (1818) also proposed O. ludoviciana that he collected at Fort Mandan. This species is not known from Jefferson County, though there are collections from Boulder and Denver Counties.

Orobanche is a Linnean (1753) genus name applied originally to three species in Europe, and two from Virginia when it was an English colony. Recent phylogenetic work (Schneider, 2016) suggests that the North American Orobanche form a monophyletic clade. Aphyllon Mitch. has been proposed as the generic name for the clade.

Among Colorado authors, Weber & Wittmann (2012) split the Colorado Orobanche s.l. between Aphyllon and Orobanche. This would be roughly similar to Gray's (1856, 2nd ed.) treatment of Aphyllon while treating section Gymnocaulis as a member of Orobanche. Meanwhile, Ackerfield (2015) retains all the Orobanche together in that genus.

Obs. No. 1567, Orobanche fasciculata	Coll. No. 1386, Orobanche fasciculata

Orobanche uniflora L. “Naked Broomrape”

The name was applied by Linnaeus (1753) describing a plant that lived in Virginia.

Orthocarpus luteus Nutt. “Yellow Owls Clover”

There are a few other collections scattered around Jefferson County, in places such as Genessee, Flying J Ranch Park, and Meyer Ranch Park. The author has also collected it at Buffalo Creek Recreation Area. Yellow Owls Clover is found occasionally throughout central and western Colorado, and more broadly the western states.

The genus Orthocarpus and O. luteus was published by Nuttall (1818) who carefully distinguished it from Melampyrum a genus that Nuttall had experience with, but does not occur in Colorado. The common name of Melampyrum is “cow wheat.”

One other Orthocarpus, O. purpureoalbus, is found in the southernmost counties of Colorado.

Erythranthe floribunda (Douglas ex Lindl.) G. L. Nesom “Many Flowered Monkey Flower”

First described as Mimulus floribundus by Lindley (1827) from plants grown from seeds sent by David Douglas. Placed in Erythranthe by Barker, et al. (2012) in a major reorganization of Mimulus.

The next two, E. glabrata and E. guttata, are known from single collections or observations. Their presence in Golden s.l. seems unlikely.

Erythranthe glabrata (Kunth) G. L. Nesom “Roundleaf Monkeyflower”

Described by Kunth (1818) from collections by Moran in Mexico.

Erythranthe guttata (Fisch. ex DC.) G.L. Nesom “Seep Monkeyflower”

Collinsia Nutt.

Collinsia parviflora Lindl. “Maiden Blue-eyed Mary”

Gratiola neglecta Torr. “Clammy Hedge Hyssop”

The name was applied by John Torrey (1819) in his catalog of plants within 30 miles of New York.

Linaria canadensis (L.) Dum.-Cours. var. texana (Scheele) Pennell “Blue Toadflax, Texas Toadflax”

Coll. No. 2077, Linaria canadensis var. texana

Described by Scheele (1848, p. 761-2) from a collection by Romer made between Houston and Austin, Texas.

Penstemon secundiflorus Benth. “Sidebells Penstemon”

Name applied by Bentham (1846) to a specimen seen in Torrey's herbarium, possibly a Fremont collection.

Our plant is similar to P. virgatus var. asa-grayi and may be distinguished by leaves that are thick and glaucous, and a staminode that is widened at the tip and bearded.

Penstemon strictus Benth. “Rocky Mountain Penstemon”

The name was applied by Bentham in DeCandolle (1846) citing collections by Fremont on the Sweetwater River, Wyoming.

Our plant is similar to P. virgatus var. asa-grayi and may be distinguished by leaves that are thick and glaucous, and a staminode that is widened at the tip and bearded.

Penstemon virens Pennell ex Rydb. “Front Range Beardtongue”

The name P. virens was applied by Rydberg (1917) apparently at the suggestion of Pennell who collected the type. The type locality is the general area of Red Rocks Amphitheater though the amphitheater did not exist at the time. As an entity it was known well before then, as early as Nuttall's 1834 trip to Oregon Territory, and by Parry's collection, and Hall & Harbour collections. However, it was treated as a form of P. pubescens until treated as P. humilis Gray (1862), of which part was segregated into P. virens Rydberg (1917) based upon Pennel's type.

Habitat of Coll. No. 1107, Penstemon virens

Penstemon virgatus A. Gray var. asa-grayi (Crosswh.) Dorn “Upright Blue Beardtongue”

The type selected by Crosswhite (1965) is Patterson #258 made 13 July 1892 in “mountains about the head waters of Clear Creek near Empire.

A search for this taxon in SEINet will be redirected to P. unilateralis. I believe this is an error. Crosswhite (1965) specifically published P. virgatus ssp. asa-grayi because P. unilateralis is a synonym of P. secundiflorus. This is apparently still true as the FNANM entry for var. asa-grayi states, “The name Penstemon unilateralis Rydberg, a synonym of P. secundiflorus, was widely misapplied to this taxon in much of the 1900s.”

Our taxon is similar to P. secundiflorus above, and may be distinguished by leaves that are green, and not blue-green and glaucous, and the staminode is not widened at the tip which is glabrous.

Plantago patagonica Jacq. “Woolly Plantain”

Described and illustrated in Jacquin (1793, v. 2, p. 9) from a collection made on the Champion River of Patagonia. Native to North and South America.

Veronica L.

• Annual
  • V. arvensis L. Corn Speedwell
  • V. biloba L. Two-Lobe Speedwell
  • V. peregrina ssp. xalapensis (Kunth) Pennell. Hairy Purslane Speedwell
  • V. persica Poir. Bird-Eye Speedwell
• Perennial
  • V. americana Schwein. ex Benth. American Brooklime.
  • V. anagalis-aquatica L. Blue Water Speedwell
  • V. catenata Pennell. Water Speedwell
  • V. serpyllifolia L. Thyme-Leaf Speedwell

Of these, seven have been collected or observed in Golden s.l.. V. persica has not been found here. V. catenata has, though it should be pointed out that Ackerfield (2015) treats it as a synonym of V. anagallis-aquatica.

Veronica americana Schwein. ex Benth. “American Speedwell”

The name was published by Bentham, who wrote the chapter on Scrophulariaceae in DeCandolle's (1846) Prodromo. Bentham worked from a manuscript by Schweinitz, abbreviated Schwein., who described the native range as North America from Canada to Carolina, and Oregon including Sitka. Lewis David de Schweinitz (13 February 1780 – 8 February 1834) was a German-American botanist and mycologist. He is considered by some the "Father of North American Mycology," but also made significant contributions to botany.

V. americana can be distinguished from the following (V. anagallis-aquatica and/or V. catenata) by the short-petiolate leaves.

The author has not seen this plant in Colorado, but has collected it near Mono Lake, Mono County, Colorado.

Coll. No. 1024, Veronica americana

Veronica catenata Pennell “Water Speedwell”

There is a certain amount of uncertainty about V. catenata and the related V. anagallis-aquatica. Weber & Wittmann (2012) accept V. catenata for Colorado, and then note the possible presence of V. anagallis-aquatica saying that distinguishing the two “… is a difficult matter to decide; furthermore the two species hybridize, forming a very robust, sterile hybrid.” Ackerfield (2015) treats V. catenata Pennell as a synonym of V. anagallis-aquatica, and therefore the latter becomes native or not-introduced to Colorado. POWO (2022) accepts V. catenata and V. anagallis-aquatica as distinct species. FNANM is not published for Veronica, so that's no help. The author has put V. anagallis-aquatica on his collections, following Ackerfield (2015).

Veronica peregrina L. ssp. xalapensis (Kunth) Pennell “Neckweed”

First named by Kunth (1818) for a plant collected near Xalapa, Mexico, and treated as a subspecies of Veronica peregrina by Pennell (1919) as part of his work on the Scrophulariaceae.

Coll. No. 1135, Veronica peregrina ssp. xalapensis

Symphoricarpos occidentalis Hook. “Western Snowberry”

The plant was described by Hooker (1840) from a collection by Richardson on the Franklin expedition (1819-22) and also citing collections by Drummond and Douglas. The name “occidentalis” perhaps reflects a lack of understanding of North American geography, certainly the plant was found west of centers of population at the time, but there are other taxa in Symphoricarpos that are concentrated further west.

Symphoricarpos rotundifolius A. Gray “Roundleaf Snowberry”

The plant was first described by A. Gray (1853) in Plantae Wrightianae, Texano - Neo-Mexicanae, a scientific account of the botanical collections of Mr. Charles Wright in 1851 and 1852.

Campanula rotundifolia L. “Harebell”

Originally described by Linnaeus (1753) with a habitat of European pastures.

Achillea millefolium L. “Common Yarrow”

Common Yarrow is found throughout Jefferson County, e.g., the author has collected it in the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area. Similarly, it is common throughout Colorado, except the eastern Plains, and the higher, drier valleys, such as the San Luis Valley.

Globally, the plant is native to the northern hemisphere. The name was published by Linnaeus (1753) who noted the plant was present in European meadows and pastures. Early explorers of North American, e.g., Pursh (1814) and Nuttall (1818) thought it was introduced from Europe. Torrey and Gray (1843) recognized that Common Yarrow was widely distributed in North America, though thought it may have been introduced into pastures.

Agoseris glauca (Pursh) Raf. “Pale Goat-Chicory”

There is only one collection and one literature reference to A. glauca in Golden s.l. The one collection is in a Texas herbarium (UTEP) and not available for examination. There is a possibility that it is mis-identified. Compared to A. parviflora, below, the evidence for presence of A. glauca is a little thin.

Pale Goat-Chicory was first described as Troximon glaucum by Pursh (1816) in his North American Flora. Pursh states that he saw the plant as a dried specimen and live in a garden. However, Pursh does not tell us whose dried collection he saw or the source of the live garden specimen. Since Pursh does tell us the plant grows on the banks of the Missouri River, it could have been a Lewis & Clark or Bradley collection. However, Moulton (1999) does not list Agoseris glauca in the Lewis & Clark herbarium. Thus we are left with probalility that our plant was originally a Bradley collection.

Agoseris parviflora (Nutt.) D. Dietr. “Steppe Goat-Chicory”

The Agoseris are often confused with Prairie False Dandelion – Nothocalais cuspidata – to which they are very closely related and with the true dandelions – Taraxacum species.

Steppe Goat-Chicory was first described as Troximon parviflora by Thomas Nuttall (1841) from a collection he made “… on the plains of the Platte to the Rocky Mountains …” It was Dietrich (1847) who placed this plant and the predecessor into Rafinesque's Agoseris.

Not everyone agrees that A. parviflora is a species distinct from A. glauca. As recently as 2012, some Colorado authors were placing A. parviflora as a variety of A. glauca, e.g., A. glauca var. laciniata (D. C. Eaton) Smiley in Weber & Wittman (2012).

Habitat of Coll. No. 1101, Agoseris parviflora	Coll. No. 1101, Agoseris parviflora

Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. “Annual Ragweed”

First described by Linnaeus (1753, v. 2, p. 988) who described the habitat as Virginia and Pennsylvania. Weber & Wittmann (2012) state that it is an alien, whereas other sources such as Ackerfield (2015), Flora of North America, etc., accept it as native to Colorado.

Ambrosia psilostachya DC. “Western Ragweed”

Described by DeCandolle (1836) from collections made in Mexico.

Ambrosia tomentosa Nutt. “Ragweed”

Ambrosia trifida L. “Giant Ragweed”

The name was applied by Linnaeus (1753, v. 2, p. 987) to specimens from Virginia and Canada.

Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) Bentham & Hooker “Western Pearly Everlasting”

There is a certain dissonance in the literature regarding the nativity of A. margaritacea. Neither of our current Colorado floras (Ackerfield, 2015, and Weber & Wittmann, 2012) make a statement, which implies the taxon is native to Colorado. Flora of North America and USDA Plants accept nativity to North America, including Colorado. Plants of the World (Kew), on the other hand, states that the native range is Indian Subcontinent to Russian Far East and Japan, and that taxon is introduced to North America and northern Europe.

Antennaria parvifolia Nutt. “Small-Leaf Pussytoes”

Antennaria parvifolia is widespread throughout the western United States and Canad. It is polyploid complex with both sexual (dioecious) and asexual (gynoecious) populations. It is probably descended from hybridization of multiple Antennaria. The epithet parvifolia has been rendered as "parviflora" in some floras.

Antennaria rosea Greene “Rosy Pussytoes”

Arnica cordifolia Hook. “Heart-Leaf Leopardbane”

Arnica fulgens Pursh “Shining Leopardbane”

Unfortunately, the Leopardbane name is better reserved for things in the genus Doronicum which was at one time thought to be closely related to Arnica but recent work shows the two are distantly related.

A. fulgens was first described by Pursh (1814) from an unattributed collection on the banks of the Missouri River.

Woolly hairs in axils of basal leaves of Coll. No. 2038, Arnica fulgens

Artemisia campestris L. “Field Sagewort”

There are two collections and one report of “Field Sagewort” — Artemisia campestris L. — in Golden s.l., the collections from Apex Gulch and a generic location of Golden, while the report is from North Table Mountain. Jefferson County collections are scattered along the Front Range, including the intensely collected locations of Rocky Flats and Chatfield Farms. The author has also collected it at Ranson/Edwards Homestead Open Space Park. For Colorado, the taxon is distributed along the Front Range and interior mountains, with a few collections on the eastern plains.

At the simplest level, A. campestris L. was published describing plants found in sunny, dry fields of Europe. When we get to infraspecific taxa, and plants native to Colorado, things get complicated in a hurry. While there is a lot variation within the species, and multiple ways the species has been divided, the infraspecific taxa that may be found in Golden s.l. are variety caudata and variety pacifica.

Artemisia dracunculus L. “Tarragon, Dragon Wort”

Artemisia filifolia Torrey “Sand Sage, Old-Man Sagebrush”

Artemisia frigida Willd. “Prairie Sagewort”

Artemisia frigida was described by Carl Willdenow (1803) in the 4th edition of Linnaeus Species Plantarum. The location given was a region in southeast Siberia. Perhaps the first collection in North America was that of Lewis & Clark, made along the Missouri River in September and October, 1804 (Pursh, 1814, v. 2, p. 521; Moulton, 1999)

Coll. No. 1067, Artemisia frigida	Coll. No. 1067, Artemisia frigida

Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt. “Silver Wormwood”

Six varieties are treated in FNANM (Shulz, 2006), four of which are recognized to occur in Colorado by Ackerfield (2015), whereas Weber & Wittmann (2012) recognize just two subspecies while noting, “ … the microraces are legion and impossible to place into pigeonholes …”

Coll. No. 1281, Artemisia ludoviciana

Bahia dissecta (A. Gray) Britton “Ragleaf Bahia”

Known variously as Bahia dissecta (A. Gray) Britton and Amauriopsis dissecta (A. Gray) Rydberg in current floras and data bases, recent phylogenetic work by Baldwin & Wood (2016) suggest that Hymenothrix dissecta (A. Gray) B. G. Baldwin would be a better name in the future.

Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt. “Arrow-Leaf Balsam Root”

The plant was first collected by the Lewis & Clark expedition on the Columbia River, April 14, 1806, and near Lewis & Clark Pass, Montana, on July 7, 1806. Only the April 14, 1806 collection remains. Pursh (1814) described it as Buphthalmum sagittatum from the Lewis & Clark collection. Nuttall (1834a) saw it in the collections returned by Nathaniel Wyeth, and again when he crossed the country with the next Wyeth expedition (Nuttall, 1840). From this last expedition, Nuttall applied Hooker's Balsamorhiza to the plant, giving us our modern name.

Coll. No. 2252, Balsamorhiza sagittata	Coll. No. 1109, Balsamorhiza sagittata	Voucher of Coll. No. 2252, Balsanorhiza sagittata

Brickellia californica (Torrey & A. Gray) A. Gray “California Brickelbush”

The species was described from a collection made by Agustus Fendler in August 1847 and described by Gray (1849) in his Plantae Fendleriana. The location of the collection was “… Rocky hill-side on the Mora River, and eight miles eastward, in bottom land … ” The location was likely on the Santa Fe trail, where it crosses the Mora River, and near present-day Watrous on US Interstate 25.

Brickellia eupatorioides (L.) Shinners “False Boneset”

This taxon was formerly Kuhnia eupatorioides L., named by Linneaus (1763) from a collection made in Pensylvania by Adam Kuhn. Placement of this plant in Brickellia is attributed to Shinners (Anonymous, 1971). Although the actual text is in unsigned “Notes” in the issue of SIDA containing a tribute to Shinners on his death. More recently, phylogenetic work supports the existence of Kuhnia as an infrageneric group within Brickellia (Schilling, et al., 2015).

Coll. No. 1553, Brickellia eupatorioides

Brickellia grandiflora (Hook.) Nutt. “Tasselflower Brickellbush”

The taxon was first described Eupatorium? grandiflorum by Hooker (1840) from a collection by Douglas between branches of Lewis and Clarke's River. It is not clear the river referred to by Hooker. I doubt that it is the current Lewis & Clark River in Oregon. Nuttall (1841), however, recognized that the plant should be placed in the Brickellia in his report about his trip across the continent on the Oregon Trail.

Cirsium ochrocentrum A. Gray “Yellowspine Thistle”

They can be distinguished by examining how the middle and upper leaves attach to the stem. Those of C. ochrocentrum are decurrent on the stem for more than 1 cm., whereas those of C. undulatum are sessile and clasping, or decurrent for less than 1 cm.

Cirsium undulatum (Nutt.) Spreng. “Wavy Leaved Thistle”

C. undulatum (Nutt.) Spreng. the “Wavy Leaved Thistle” is the native thistle most-often seen around Golden. It is short, 1-2 feet, as thistles go, and usually has only one or two flower heads at the top of a single stem.

The plant was first seen by Thomas Nuttall on Lake Huron in 1810. He would find it again later in the Upper Louisiana Territory, presumably somewhere along the Missouri River. Nuttall published his findings in his Genera of North America Plants in 1818 as Carduus undulatus Nutt. placing it in section Cnicus. Sprengel (1826) would revise the genus to Cirsium in Systema vegetabilium, the 16th edition of Linneaus' Species Plantarum.

In Golden, C. undulatum has been collected by me in the Colorado School of Mines Survey Field. Loraine Yeatts collected it on South Table Mountain, and Ernest H. Brunquist at Heritage Square. Additionally, it has been observed on Dakota Ridge, North Table Mountain, and at the North Washington Open Space.

The other native true thistle that may be found in Golden is C. ochrocentrum A. Gray “Yellowspine Thistle.” There is one collection determined C. ochrocentrum, that of Edmund Cross made 20 Jul 1913 (RM313305) along the railroad tracks. However, an apparent duplicate of that collection (RM313306) is determined C. undulatum.

At the opposite end of the native/non-native spectrum, is the noxious weed Cirsium arvense, “Canada thistle” that is discussed at length below.

Coll. No. 2377, Cirsium undulatum with bumblebee.	Big bumblebee on Cirsium undulatum	Coll. No. 2377, Cirsium undulatum in progress.

Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. “Golden Tickseed”

The plant was collected by Thomas Nuttall in 1819 who found it in the “… Arkansa territory to the banks of the Red River …” in a list of new species of plants recently introduced into the gardens of Philadelphia. Nuttall (1821) notes,

As an ornamental plant, of easy culture and uncommon brilliance, it promises to become the favorite of every garden where it is introduced.

Crepis occidentalis Nutt. “Largeflower Hawksbeard”

In Jefferson County, the taxon has been found mostly at the intensely studied areas, such as Rocky Flats and Chatfield. More broadly, it is found from the Front Range west through Colorado, a distribution that is continued throughout the western states.

Crepis occidentalis was described by Nuttall (1834a) from plants brought to him by Nathaniel Wyeth in 1833. This whetted Nuttall's appetite for exploring Oregon Territory and Nuttall accompanied Wyeth back to the territory in 1834.

Some authors (Ackerfield, 2015) recognize three varieties of C. occidentalis while noting that the varieties intergrade, whereas others (Weber & Wittmann, 2012) do not recognize infraspecific varieties. My collection from the Survey Field would likely be determined variety costata if an infraspecific name were to be applied.

Weber & Wittman (2012) separate the indigenous North American Crepis s.l. into Psilochenia (Psilochaenia orth. Var.), a position for which there is some phylogenetic support (Enke, 2009).

Coll. No. 1894, Crepis occidentalis	Flower head of Coll. No. 1894, Crepis occidentalis

Cyclachaena xanthifolia (Nutt.) Fresen. “Carelessweed” or “Giant Sumpweed”

Collected and described by Thomas Nuttall (1818, v. 2, p. 185) from plants he found at Fort Mandan, South Dakota. There are no specimens of this plant in the Lewis & Clark herbarium (Moulton, 1999).

Coll. No. 2423, Cyclachaena xanthiifolia

Dieteria bigelovii (A. Gray) D. R. Morgan & R. L. Hartman “Bigelow's Tansy Aster”

Dieteria canescens (Pursh) Nutt. “Hoary Tansyaster”

Published by Pursh (1814) as Aster canescens having seen a dried specimen of unknown provenance. The genus name Dieteria was published by Nuttall (1840). Nuttall refers to a Missouri River location which would imply that he saw it in 1811. It is also possible that Pursh saw a Bradbury specimen.

Some Colorado authors (Weber & Wittmann, 2012) place this in Machaeranthera.