| Arnica mollis (probably).
Picture taken July 6, 2008 in Teller Co., Colorado.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Subtribe: Madiinae
Genus: Arnica
Species: Mollis (probably).
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| Dandelion. This is 19 April 2008, and we are still getting freezing
temperatures at night in Colorado Springs, but the Dandelion wastes no time in
getting started.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Taraxacum
There are many species of Dandelion.
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| This is the Colorado Thistle or Elk Thistle,
or more properly known as the Meadow Thistle.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Carduoideae
Tribe: Cynareae
Genus: Cirsium
Species: Cirsium foliosum
This plant is native to Colorado.
This picture was taken near Elevenmile Lake. It was at least 1 foot across,
pushing back the surrounding grass.
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| Cocklebur. Also known as a Cockle-burr.
Picture taken 16 July 2009 in Colorado Springs.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Xanthium
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| Sunflowers, 4 August 2008. Species unknown.
The second picture was taken on 16 July 2009
of the flower bed in my back yard, which was supposed to have a variety of flowers.
I don't know where the sunflowers came from, but they overpower everything else.
The flower part is 6" in diameter, and 2.5" for just the seed part.
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Helianthus
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| Coneflower. Found on 10 July 2009 at the Fountain Creek Nature Center.
This is also known as a Mexican hat.
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Asteridae
Order Asterales
Family Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus Ratibida Raf. – prairie coneflower
Species: columnifera
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| This is probably a Rudbeckia, Rudbeckia laciniata.
Common names are Cutleaf, Cutleaf Coneflower, Goldenglow, Green-headed Coneflower,
Tall Coneflower or, Thimbleweed.
Found by Alyssa Erickson along a hiking trail on 8 August 2009.
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Rudbeckia
Species: laciniata (maybe)
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| Canada Thistle. These pictures were taken at the Fountain, Colorado Nature Center
on 16 July 2008.
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Asteridae
Order Asterales
Family Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus Cirsium – thistle
Species Cirsium arvense – Canada thistle
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| Myrtle Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites).
These pictures taken in El Paso County, Colorado.
Blooms early, this picture taken on 16 March 2009, and it had
started blooming a week earlier.
The boards on the fence are 6" wide, so you can see how big the blooms are.
According to Wikipedia, although it is sometimes grown as a decorative plant
in gardens, particularly valued in xeriscaping in dry areas, myrtle
spurge is often considered noxious, and is invasive in some regions.
Its cultivation is illegal in the state of Colorado.
The milky sap can cause significant skin and eye irritations.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Rosidae
(unranked): Eurosids I
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Subfamily: Euphorbioideae
Tribe: Euphorbieae
Subtribe: Euphorbiinae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species: E. myrsinites
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| A closely related plant is the Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula).
It is also known as the Green Spurge. It is in the
same genus as the Myrtle Spurge, above.
This picture was taken in Elbert Co., Colorado on 20 May 2009.
This plant is native to Europe, but has been introduced in North America.
It is very invasive, and very hard to get rid of once it starts.
Cattle will not graze on it.
Genus: Euphorbia
Species: E. esula
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| Yucca. The ends of the leaves have very sharp barbs.
If your finger gets stuck, it will hurt, but what is different about the Yucca
plant is that it will keep on hurting for several months.
There are many species, but judging by the looks of
the seed pods in the second photo, this must be the Baccata species.
These pictures taken 19 April 2008 in Elbert Co., CO.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Agavaceae
Genus: Yucca
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| Wisteria. Takes several years before it blooms.
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| French Hollyhock, Malva Sylvestris. This blooms in late summer.
It is a biennial, so we have to plant the seeds one year to get flowers
the next year. Sometimes sold as "althaea", supposedly a perennial.
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| This picture of an Iris took 2nd place in the El Paso County, CO fair,
amateur photography competition, in
July 2007.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris
There are between 200 and 300 species of Iris.
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| Snowball bush. More properly known as European
Cranberry Viburnum,
European Snowball Bush, Guelder Rose 'Roseum', and Viburnum opulus.
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Adoxaceae
Genus: Viburnum
Species: opulus
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Rhubarb. This plant was growing in our back yard when we
bought our house in 1976. It has been moved twice. This picture was taken
in 2003, which was a good year for it's growth. It is still here in 2008.
My mother used to make pie, with 1/2 Rhubarb, chopped into small pieces, and 1/2
strawberries. When the stem part of the leaf turns red in the fall, it is ripe,
and can be eaten raw. The taste is a little strong, however.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rheum
and there are about 60 species.
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| Cattail or Bulrush. These pictures were taken at
the Fountain Creek Nature Center, Fountain Colorado.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Typhaceae
Genus: Typha
There are 8 species, but the one we have in Colorado is the
most common, Typha latifolia - Common Cattail
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| Unknown flower, Fountain Creek Nature Center on 8 June 2009. A small flower,
low to the ground.
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| Unknown flower, Fountain Creek Nature Center on 8 June 2009.
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| An unusual looking flower, found in the Fountain Creek Nature Center on 25 July 2009.
Identification is pending. The second picture is from 23 July 2009, same place.
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| Unknown flower, Elbert County, Colorado on 20 May 2009.
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| What is this? Near Eleven Mile lake, Teller county Colorado.
The first picture was taken 2 July 2007.
The second picture was taken 15 June 2009 at the same place, and shows better detail of
the earlier stages of the flower.
It has the same structure as the purplish flower growning nearby, and shown in the next flower.
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| What is this? Near Eleven Mile lake, Teller county Colorado.
This picture was taken 15 June 2009 near the white flower above, and has the same
structure as the white flower.
It looks quite a bit like the Moss Campion, Silene acaulis.
That flower has pinkish-purple flowers, rarely white, and grows mainly above timberline.
(These were found at about 9,000 feet, not above timberline, but definitely high altitude.)
It also looks quite a bit like some species of Locoweed, Oxytropis. The leaf structure
may also be more similar to the Locoweed.
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| Unknown flower, found at the Fountain Creek Nature Center on 7 Sep 2008.
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| Unknown flower, found at Spinney Lake, Park Co., Colorado on 9 Sep 2008.
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| Unknown flower, found in El Paso County, Colorado on 10 Sep 2008.
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| What is this? Blooms once a year, very small white blossoms.
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| Alyssa Erickson took these pictures in July 2009 on a hiking trail near Colorado Springs.
Identification has not been made.
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| Alyssa Erickson took this picture in August 2009 on a hiking trail near Colorado Springs.
Identification has not been made.
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| Alyssa Erickson took this picture in August 2009 on a hiking trail near Colorado Springs.
Identification has not been made.
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