Part 3

4 Wall Flower: Erysimum asperum 5 Golden Whitlow: Draba aurea 7 Bladder pod: Physaria didymocarpa

BLEEDING HEART FAMILY

6 Golden Smoke: Capnoides aureum]

VIOLET FAMILY

Yellow Violet Viola biflora

Plate 5, fig. 1

The plants of the Yellow Violet are low and the deep-green leaves often form carpet-like masses along the moist edges of brook-banks at 7000-11000 ft. The flowers are small and yellow with red-brown stripes, the lower petal hanging down in the form of a lip. They bloom from spring to early summer.

Prairie Violet Viola pedatifida

Plate 5, fig. 2

The flowers of the Prairie Violet are large and deep blue, though albino forms are sometimes found. The plants are stemless and only a few inches high, blooming on prairies at 3000-6000 ft. from April to June. The Prairie Violet may easily be mistaken for the Bird’s-foot Violet of the East on account of its deeply cut leaves, which serve also to distinguish it from the Blue Violet so common in woodlands.

CAPER FAMILY

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant Cleome serrulata

Plate 5, fig. 3

This plant is a conspicuous feature of disturbed or waste places on the plains and in the foothills at 3000-7000 ft. It usually forms dense clumps or thickets in which the plants may be 6-10 ft. high. The flowers occur in large rose-purple, pink or rarely white clusters which are found throughout the summer. They contain much nectar and consequently are great favorites among the bees. This plant is a relative of the capers which are cultivated for their pungent flower-buds used in salads.

MUSTARD FAMILY

Wall Flower Erysimum asperum

Plate 5, fig. 4

The Wall Flower has a wide range of coloring, varying from pure yellow to burnt-orange and even rose-purple. It is 1-2 ft. high and occurs on prairies, plains and mountain-sides at 3000-12000 ft. The flowers are fragrant and occur in dense clusters which are found from spring to midsummer. The Wall Flower is a close relative of the Stocks of old-fashioned gardens.

Golden Whitlow Draba aurea

Plate 5, fig. 5

This little plant bears small golden-yellow blossoms in spring and summer. It is found in sunny spots and in open woodland and forest throughout the mountains from 7000-13000 ft.

Bladder Pod Physaria didymocarpa

Plate 5, fig. 7

The flowers of the Bladder Pod are pale yellow and the stems prostrate, growing on dry hills and gravel-slides at 5000-10000 ft. and blooming in spring and early summer. The Bladder Pod receives its name from its inflated fruits which roll around on the gravel-slide.

BLEEDING HEART FAMILY

Golden Smoke Capnoides aureum

Plate 5, fig. 6

This plant belongs to the same family as the familiar Bleeding Heart and Dutchman’s Breeches, but the flower is yellow in color and has only one spur. It is especially fond of open, sandy or gravelly soils and is found widely distributed in woodlands and on hillsides at 4000-10000 ft. The plants begin flowering in June and continue throughout the summer. They vary greatly in size from tiny individuals an inch or two high, to great masses, 2 ft. or more across. Some of the species possess an odor like smoke, to which both the scientific and the common names refer.