Comanche Blooms

One of my favorite stomping grounds: Comanche National Grassland! Note that there are two parts to the Comanche: the La Junta Unit and the Springfield Unit. This post is about the La Junta Unit, which is the closest one to me.

It amazes me how much the landscape changes in just a few days. These are flowering Lace Hedgehog cacti (Echinocereus reichenbachii) near David Canyon Road. They weren’t blooming the last time I was out there, on May 3. The flowers don’t stay long, so I was thrilled to be able to see them. (I took all of the photos in this post May 17). Note: All identifications are to the best of my knowledge! This is the cactus as it looks before it blooms:

Another one of my favorite grassland plants: Prince’s Plume (Stanleya pinnata), also along David Canyon Road. Some years it doesn’t come up at all, but I think the rain we received about a week and a half ago encouraged the growth. I love to see it waving in the wind!

Okay, what does this remind you of? This is the early stage of the flowering of a yucca (Yucca glauca). But doesn’t it look like asparagus? That’s because it’s in the same family, Asparagaceae! We’ve been picking wild asparagus that grows on our property, and when I saw this, it sure reminded me of the vegetable. Here are a few more photos of yucca in various stages of growth:

Note that on this plant, there are some horizontal branches. I saw several plants like this. Most plants just have one spear growing straight up. I don’t know what causes the branching.

Yucca are blooming all over the plains right now. These photos were taken along the road to Vogel Canyon and along David Canyon Road.

Broadbeard beardtongue (Penstemon angustifolius) is one of several variaties of Penstemon found in Colorado. Bees love it. So do I!

Colorado Beardtongue (Penstemon auriberbis). Note the orange “tongue” on these!

This is a low-growing penstemon. I’m not confident enough to give a better ID. But note that all three of these plants were growing in the same area–in this case, along David Canyon Road.

Prairie groundsel (Packera plattensis). See the blister beetle in the middle of the photo? Found along the road to Vogel Canyon.

Plains larkspur (Delphinium virescens). Near Vogel Canyon Picnic Area.

Prickly pear (Opuntia sp.), with a pollinator (a green metallic sweat bee). Prickly pear are quite numerous; some have orange flowers; some are even peach-colored. Apparently the plants like to interbreed, so it’s hard to get a more specific ID than Opuntia.

Plains bee balm (Monarda pectinata). These were also near the Vogel Canyon Picnic Area. Here’s a closer view:

Stemmy Four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa). Note that the leaves are on the ground instead of along the stems. Again, this is my best guess. I feel that if I’m going to display nature photos, I should at least take a stab as to the species. These were on County Road 25, near the bluffs just north of the intersection with David Canyon Road.

My original intention was to include more pictures from this date, when I’d gone out to the Comanche to take Bumble Bee Atlas training, as well as photos from May 3, when I was a volunteer for the Picketwire Canyon Auto Tours. But then I realized how many flower photos I had just from May 17, I decided to limit this post to just showcase the flowers. That means there will be another post from the Grassland–mostly insects, and landscapes, including dinosaur tracks, not to mention a lizard! I’ll talk more about the Bumble Bee Atlas, too.

Note that the U.S. Forest Service office in La Junta is not currently open due to the federal government’s downsizing initiative. You can still sign up for Picketwire Auto Tours, which run through June 14 and should start up again in September. To check to see if there are any openings (make sure to read the rules; you’ll need a four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle), you can go to this website: https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/234166

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