Richard J. Shaw
64 pages/6X9 inches
ISBN 0970206720
$8.95
Our wildflowers book has been in publication since the 1950s. Three generations of backpackers have relied on it for accurate information and beautiful full color pictures that make it easy to identify the varied species of flowers growing profusely throughout the parks, especially those found along roadsides and hiking trails. The current edition has updated botanical information and plant descriptions that tell where and when to look for the plants as well as historical and cultural uses.
Dr. Richard J. Shaw was a professor of botany at Utah State University for thirty-nine years and a seasonal naturalist for Grand Teton National Park, where he spent thirty-one summers studying the plants and wildflowers of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
ALPINE FORGET-ME-NOT
Borage Family
Eritrichium nanum
Many cushion plants occur in the alpine ecosystem, but the brilliant blue and delicate fragrance makes this cushion plant unforgettable. Grand Teton National Park selected this species as its official plant, suggesting the beauty of the alpine zone. One open flower is considerably smaller than a thumbtack, and when a bumblebee visits the flower, its body covers the entire perianth. Note the yellow center of the corolla which leads to the hidden stamens. Cushion plants in general reach only a few inches above the soil, and as a result avoid the harsh environmental conditions such as continuous wind. The generic name, Eritrichium, means “woolly hair” in reference to the woolly pubescence of the leaves.
