Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • The broadleaf lupine is one of my favorite wildflowers on Mount Rainier. They can be so numerous at the sub-alpine level that they can create a sea of blue mixed with spatters of other well-known wildflowers of other vibrant and contrasting colors. These were photographed on Mount Rainier's southern face close to the tree line.
    Broadleaf Lupine
  • Standing snow in the North Cascades on a chilly August late afternoon at the tree line, where thick forest opens into subalpine meadow. In most of Washington's mountain ranges, standing snow is common year-round.
    North Cascades National Park
  • While this flower is common all over the western half of the United States and parts of Canada, this unusually pale and nearly white version was found growing west of Sweetwater, Wyoming among several other species of subalpine wildflowers on a very chilly summer day..
    Rocky Mountain Iris
  • One of the most beautiful places I've been to in the State of Washington, and well worth the long climb and hike on the northern side of Mount Rainier National Park - this subalpine meadow opens up as one just reaches the highest point where the forest gives way to open meadowlands.
    Mountain Meadow
  • This wonderful alpine wildflower and member of the buttercup family is found at very high elevations in California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta, and only shows itself in summer when the snow finally melts, preferring wet, gravelly soils, common at such altitudes. When pollinated, the the seedpods resemble large green furry mops turned upside down, where brisk alpine winds will disperse the seeds ensuring the next generation.
    Western Pasqueflower
  • This mid to high-elevation member of the rose family is associated with wet, rocky soils of the western states and provinces of North America. These were photographed on Washington's Mount Rainier.
    Mountain Meadow-Sweet
  • The tall northern white bog orchid is a fragrant water-loving orchid found across all of Northern North America. This one was growing in a bog on the north face of Washington's Mount Rainier.
    Tall White Northern Bog Orchid (Plat..ata)
  • Queen's cups are a small plain white lily that often grows in vast carpets in the wet forests of the Pacific Northwest. After the flower wilts, a bright blue berry develops and although it is inedible for humans, it is eaten by grouse, who then spread the seeds for the next season.
    Queen's Cup
  • Found in the eastern and western thirds of North America, Carolina bugbane is absent from the center of the continent. Carolina bugbane is most often found growing in wet mountain meadows and wet forests from medium to high elevations, such as this one on Washington's Mount Rainier.
    Carolina Bugbane
  • A few-flowered shooting star blooms in a mountain bog on the northern face of Washington's Mount Rainier near Lake Mowich.
    Few-Flowered Shooting Star
  • Extremely common all throughout the Pacific Northwest, the queen's cup is a member of the lily family found in most forests and many wooded areas that receive a lot of rainfall, and often growing in vast carpets.
    Queen's Cup
  • Close-up of the tall northern white bog orchid. These orchids can grow over three feet/one meter tall and are often found in huge colonies, the bright white beautiful in contrast against the color of the green bogs or wet meadows where they are most often found.
    Tall White Northern Bog Orchid (Plat..ata)
  • A lone avalanche lily photographed in the rain late in the summer season on the southern slope of Washington's Mount Rainier. It is easily distinguished from its close relative the fawn lily by the fact that the leaves are uniform green, and not mottled like so many other members of the Erythronium genus.
    Avalanche Lily
  • Avalanche lilies growing on the edge of snowmelt on a sunny summer day on Mount Rainier.
    Avalanche Lilies
  • Close-up detail of avalanche lilies growing at the snow line on Mount Rainier on a beautiful sunny summer day.
    Avalanche Lilies
  • One of the most beautiful native lilies found in North America, this combined image of several large images stitched together is of a big clump of avalanche lilies in full bloom on Larch Mountain in Oregon. This massive print is at full natural size an enormous 10.75 feet x 2.1 feet (3.3m x 0.66m) and was created from five images.
    Avalanche Lily Panorama
  • A close up of one of the most beautiful of all of the Pacific Northwest's wild lupines. These bright blue high-elevation-loving members of the pea family range from the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges then west to the Pacific Ocean in places where elevations are high enough to stay cool in summer.
    Broadleaf Lupine
  • Found in nearly all of the western states and provinces of North America, the silvery lupine is very tolerant of many conditions and can be found in a suprising number of different habitats. This one was photographed at a rather high elevation in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park.
    Silvery Lupine
  • Lupine is one of North Americas most variable types of wildflowers, many species found in almost any kind of habitat that North America offers. These silvery lupines are blooming in Yellowstone National Park in Northwestern Wyoming. Very common in most of the western half of the continent in higher elevations, they are also very toxic to livestock.
    Silvery Lupine
  • The red columbine has had a significant role in its habitat and ecology. As an important food source for hummingbirds, it has had a historical importance for native American tribes as both a medicine and a perfume.
    Red Columbine
  • Very pale specimens of the rocky mountain iris growing in a depression on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in rural Wyoming.
    Rocky Mountain Iris
  • A striking red columbine flower in crisp detail found in Washington's Cascade Mountains in Stevens Pass.
    Red Columbine
  • Easily one of the most recognizable mountain wildflowers on the West Coast, the red columbine has an astounding range. It can be found as far north as Alaska and the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, all of the western states within the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges, and south down into Mexico's Baja California. This was was growing on Mount Hood in Oregon.
    Red Columbine
  • This small, compact member of the aster and daisy family is found at very high elevations in the mountains of Western North America, often near or at the snow line. They prefer wet meadows, and are often found growing in great profusion along with many other alpine/subalpine wildflowers during their brief, showy blooming period. This one was photographed on a  rainy late summer day within sight of Mount Rainier's incredible glaciers near the tree line.
    Subalpine Daisy
  • The mountain death camas spends much of the year underground as an onion-like corm, until the spring when it emerges as a beautiful, multi-flowered stalk. It is distinguishable from other death camas from the greenish-yellow markings on the petals, and as the name suggests, it is very poisonous to humans and livestock. This one was found growing in the Rocky Mountains, just east of Aspen, Colorado on a chilly subalpine June morning at about 9000 feet.
    Mountain Death Camas
  • At approximately 6400 feet above sea level, Spray Park isn't actually a park but a large subalpine meadow and part of the greater Mount Rainier National Park. From here you are at the top of the tree line and get the most spectacular views of this active volcano and all of its glaciers. It may not be the easiest of places to get to, but the long climb is totally worth the effort!
    Mount Rainier from Spray Park
  • One of the most beautiful wildflowers of the Pacific coastal subalpine ranges, the arctic lupine can grow in the cold summer mountains in such profusion that whole meadows will turn a bluish-purple color. These were photographed near the top of Hurricane Ridge in in the northern part of the Olympic Mountains in Washington.
    Arctic Lupine
  • The mountain death camas spends much of the year underground as an onion-like corm, until the spring when it emerges as a beautiful, multi-flowered stalk. It is distinguishable from other death camas from the greenish-yellow markings on the petals, and as the name suggests, it is very poisonous to humans and livestock. This one was found growing in the Rocky Mountains, just east of Aspen, Colorado on a chilly subalpine June morning at about 9000 feet.
    Mountain Death Camas
  • Native to the Rocky Mountains, this high-elevation beauty is called queen's crown, and can be found in damp subalpine to alpine wet meadows in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. This succulent was blooming in profusion at about 12,000 feet above sea level just east of Aspen, Colorado on the Continental Divide on a chilly midsummer day.
    Queen's Crown
  • The copperbush is a somewhat uncommon shrub found in the subalpine wet/damp forests in the mountains of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. Often associated with bogs, this rather unremarkable shrub has beautiful coppery bark and pale flowers. This one was blooming next to Lake Elizabeth at the top of Washington's Stevens Pass.
    Copperbush
  • Like other members of the Indian paintbrush family, these vibrant, high elevation-loving wildflowers are hemisitic. They feed at least is some part on the roots of neighboring grasses and wildflowers. If you look closely, the bright magenta part isn't the flower, but are colored leaves called bracts. The actual flowers are the tiny yellowish-green tubes sticking out of the bracts. These were photographed in the subalpine heights on Washington's Mount Rainier.
    Magenta Indian Paintbrush
  • Native to the Rocky Mountains, this high-elevation beauty is called queen's crown, and can be found in damp subalpine to alpine wet meadows in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. This succulent was blooming in profusion at about 12,000 feet above sea level just east of Aspen, Colorado on the Continental Divide on a chilly midsummer day.
    Queen's Crown
  • Native to the Rocky Mountains, this high-elevation beauty is called queen's crown, and can be found in damp subalpine to alpine wet meadows in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. This succulent was blooming in profusion at about 12,000 feet above sea level just east of Aspen, Colorado on the Continental Divide on a chilly midsummer day.
    Queen's Crown
  • Native to the Rocky Mountains, this high-elevation beauty is called queen's crown, and can be found in damp subalpine to alpine wet meadows in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. This succulent was blooming in profusion at about 12,000 feet above sea level just east of Aspen, Colorado on the Continental Divide on a chilly midsummer day.
    Queen's Crown
  • This common cold-loving member of the buttercup family is found at the sub-alpine and alpine elevations of the Cascade Mountains growing in wet meadows and bogs, usually at the edges of snowmelt. This one was photographed at dusk on Oregon's Mount Hood in early summer.
    Marsh-Marigold
  • A female ring-necked duck swims on Oregon's Lake Trillium during a rainstorm on a chilly sub-alpine summer day.
    Female Ring-Necked Duck
  • Sheep sorrel is a very widespread invasive member of the buckwheat family that originated from the Mediterranean region of Eurasia. Found in every state of the US and in every province of Canada, it is usually found in disturbed areas from the coastline to the sub-alpine elevations of mountain ranges across North America.
    Sheep Sorrel
  • The salmonberry is of the most common berries to be found in the PNW, and also a historically important food source for the original natives of the area. From the lowest elevations to nearly the sub-alpine meadows of the Cascade Mountains, these commonly encountered and beautifully vibrant wildflowers are found everywhere in the springtime and summer.
    Salmonberry
  • A very common aquatic wildflower found all across Western North America,  the yellow pond-lily is a type of spatterdock often confused with water lilies. This one was photographed in the sub-alpine elevations of Oregon's Mount Hood. An interesting side note is that the seeds are edible, and will pop just like popcorn!
    Yellow Pond-lily
  • Found throughout the higher elevations of the Cascades and Rocky Mountain ranges, the common beargrass is a summer-blooming member of the lily family, particularly common in the sub-alpine elevations.
    Common Beargrass
  • A mat of Davidson's penstemon flowers grow on a rocky outcrop high up on Mount Rainier's southern face just at the edge of the sub-alpine region.
    Davidson's Penstemon
  • One of many of the wondrous sub-alpine wildflowers found in the Pacific Northwest, this Colombian lily (also known as the small-flowered tiger lily) was found growing high up in the Cascade Mountains in Steven's Pass near the tree line on a cool August day.
    Columbia Lily
  • While incredibly beautiful and also incredibly stinky, the parry's primrose is found blooming in the summertime in very high elevations 8,800 to 13,800 feet (2700 to 4200 meters), often within sight of melting snow. Although common in the Western United States, their range is restricted to Rocky Mountains and cannot be found in the coastal states. These incredibly bright native primroses were found just below the top of the tree line high in the mountains above Aspen, Colorado in Pitkin County at around 10,000 feet in elevation.
    Parry’s Primrose (Primula parryi) - 1
  • While incredibly beautiful and also incredibly stinky, the parry's primrose is found blooming in the summertime in very high elevations 8,800 to 13,800 feet (2700 to 4200 meters), often within sight of melting snow. Although common in the Western United States, their range is restricted to Rocky Mountains and cannot be found in the coastal states. These incredibly bright native primroses were found just below the top of the tree line high in the mountains above Aspen, Colorado in Pitkin County at around 10,000 feet in elevation.
    Parry’s Primrose (Primula parryi) - 3
  • While incredibly beautiful and also incredibly stinky, the parry's primrose is found blooming in the summertime in very high elevations 8,800 to 13,800 feet (2700 to 4200 meters), often within sight of melting snow. Although common in the Western United States, their range is restricted to Rocky Mountains and cannot be found in the coastal states. These incredibly bright native primroses were found just below the top of the tree line high in the mountains above Aspen, Colorado in Pitkin County at around 10,000 feet in elevation.
    Parry’s Primrose (Primula parryi) - 2
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The sudetic lousewort - also known as fernweed -  (Pedicularis sudetica subsp. scopulorum) is a non-native European import member of the Orobanchaceae family that is found primarily in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. Like other louseworts, it is parasitic on the living roots of neighboring plants. These were found growing at approximately 12,000 feet on the continental divide, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Sudetic Lousewort
  • Also known as the early coralroot, the yellow coralroot is unusual compared to other members of the Corallorhiza genus in that it is the only one that produces its own chlorophyll like nearly all green plants (hence the yellowish-green color) and is only partly parasitic on the surrounding plants for its nourishment and nutritional needs. Found all around the Northern Hemisphere, this one was found in an area with several colonies that were mostly finished blooming and starting to go to fruit just outside of Aspen, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains at about 8000-9000 feet in elevation. The curious thing about the ones in this area is that the labellum on each flower was pure white and the rest of the flower and stem was pure yellow.
    Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The sudetic lousewort - also known as fernweed -  (Pedicularis sudetica subsp. scopulorum) is a non-native European import member of the Orobanchaceae family that is found primarily in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. Like other louseworts, it is parasitic on the living roots of neighboring plants. This one was found growing at approximately 12,000 feet on the continental divide, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Sudetic Lousewort
  • The arctic gentian, also known as the whitish gentian, is a very pale yellow to white perrenial found in high-altitude, wet alpine habitats in the Rocky Mountains, Alaska, the Yukon and parts of Eurasia. This one was found at about 12,ooo feet on the Continental Divide, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Arctic Gentian
  • Male catkins of the Sitka alder on a summer afternoon at the very top of Snoqualmie Pass at the edge of Gold Creek Pond. These unlikely looking flowers supply the pollen that will pollenate the nearby cone-like female catkins - not with insect pollinators, but by the wind!
    Sitka Alder Catkins
  • Glacier lilies are found in every western state in the continental United States except for Alaska, Arizona, and Nevada. They are also found in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. This one was photographed very literally on the Continental Divide in Wyoning's Yellowstone National Park.
    Glacier Lily
  • Also known as the early coralroot, the yellow coralroot is unusual compared to other members of the Corallorhiza genus in that it is the only one that produces its own chlorophyll like nearly all green plants (hence the yellowish-green color) and is only partly parasitic on the surrounding plants for its nourishment and nutritional needs. Found all around the Northern Hemisphere, these were found in an area with several colonies that were mostly finished blooming and starting to go to fruit just outside of Aspen, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains at about 8000-9000 feet in elevation. The curious thing about the ones in this area is that the labellum on each flower was pure white and the rest of the flower and stem was pure yellow.
    Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida)
  • Also known as the early coralroot, the yellow coralroot is unusual compared to other members of the Corallorhiza genus in that it is the only one that produces its own chlorophyll like nearly all green plants (hence the yellowish-green color) and is only partly parasitic on the surrounding plants for its nourishment and nutritional needs. Found all around the Northern Hemisphere, this one was found in an area with several colonies that were mostly finished blooming and starting to go to fruit just outside of Aspen, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains at about 8000-9000 feet in elevation. The curious thing about the ones in this area is that the labellum on each flower was pure white and the rest of the flower and stem was pure yellow.
    Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida)
  • Also known as the early coralroot, the yellow coralroot is unusual compared to other members of the Corallorhiza genus in that it is the only one that produces its own chlorophyll like nearly all green plants (hence the yellowish-green color) and is only partly parasitic on the surrounding plants for its nourishment and nutritional needs. Found all around the Northern Hemisphere, this one was found in an area with several colonies that were mostly finished blooming and starting to go to fruit just outside of Aspen, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains at about 8000-9000 feet in elevation. The curious thing about the ones in this area is that the labellum on each flower was pure white and the rest of the flower and stem was pure yellow.
    Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The purple-petal bog orchid (also known as the short-spurred bog orchid - a better name!) is another one of those difficult to ID members of the Platanthera family of bog orchids that not only look very similar to other species, they also hybridize to make identification even more confusing and difficult. Even the common name is misleading as the flowers are actually dark green, but some of them can develop a faintly reddish to purplish coloration. The most important keys to identifying this species are the width of the base of the lip, the short length of the spur and thick, blunt and wildly-positioned leaves. This one was part of a small colony found growing in standing water at about 12,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains at Independence Pass, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Purple Petal Bog Orchid (Platanthera..ens)
  • The sudetic lousewort - also known as fernweed -  (Pedicularis sudetica subsp. scopulorum) is a non-native European import member of the Orobanchaceae family that is found primarily in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. Like other louseworts, it is parasitic on the living roots of neighboring plants. This one was found growing at approximately 12,000 feet on the continental divide, just east of Aspen, Colorado.
    Sudetic Lousewort
  • Male catkins of the Sitka alder on a summer afternoon at the very top of Snoqualmie Pass at the edge of Gold Creek Pond. These unlikely looking flowers supply the pollen that will pollenate the nearby cone-like female catkins - not with insect pollinators, but by the wind!
    Sitka Alder Catkins
  • Female catkins of the Sitka alder on a summer afternoon at the very top of Snoqualmie Pass at the edge of Gold Creek Pond. These nondescript small "cones" patiently await pollen to be carried by the wind from the nearby male catkins to ensure the next generation of Sitka alders.
    Sitka Alder Catkins
  • One of my favorite wildflowers of wet meadows and bogs, the grass of Parnassus is a very striking and delicate native that has a somewhat confusing name, as it isn't even closely related to grasses. That name for the genus came from Greek botanist Dioscorides who described it as a grass-like plant that grew on the side of Mount Parnassus. The description was wrong, but the name stuck. It is found in every state and province in continental North America from the Rocky Mountains and west, excluding Arizona. This beauty was found at a very high elevation in the Olympic Mountains on Washington's Hurricane ridge growing next to some carnivorous butterworts between permanently wet rocks.
    Fringed Grass of Parnassus
  • Glacier lilies are an important source of food for many animals in the American west. The leaves and bulb-like structures (corms) are rich in nutrients and are eaten by deer, bears, bighorn sheep, elk and several rodents such as ground squirrels. Native Americans have long used the leaves as a (or part of) salad and eat the corm either boiled or fresh. This was photographed<br />
 on the eastern side of Washington's Cascades Mountain Range.
    Glacier Lily
  • Unlike other glacier lilies found in the Rocky Mountains, glacier lilies of the same species found in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest have pure white anthers instead of rusty reddish brown. These were photographed<br />
 about a mile from the shore of Lake Wenatchee in the state of Washington.
    Glacier Lily
  • There is some variety among individual populations of the glacier lily. In Wyoming, individuals have reddinsh/rusty brown anthers as seen here, and some populations I've seen elsewhere in the United States have pure white anthers, even though they are the same species.
    Glacier Lily
  • This glacier lily was part of a rather large, loose colony I stumbled into by accident in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. As I got out of the truck to take a picture of the roadside sign letting me know I was standing on the Continental Divide, patches of yellow stood out in bright contrast in the pines nearby. The sign let me know I was at exactly 7988 feet above sea level.
    Glacier Lily
  • Also known as the early coralroot, the yellow coralroot is unusual compared to other members of the Corallorhiza genus in that it is the only one that produces its own chlorophyll like nearly all green plants (hence the yellowish-green color) and is only partly parasitic on the surrounding plants for its nourishment and nutritional needs. Found all around the Northern Hemisphere, these were found in an area with several colonies that were mostly finished blooming and starting to go to fruit just outside of Aspen, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains at about 8000-9000 feet in elevation. The curious thing about the ones in this area is that the labellum on each flower was pure white and the rest of the flower and stem was pure yellow.
    Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida)
  • Also known as the early coralroot, the yellow coralroot is unusual compared to other members of the Corallorhiza genus in that it is the only one that produces its own chlorophyll like nearly all green plants (hence the yellowish-green color) and is only partly parasitic on the surrounding plants for its nourishment and nutritional needs. Found all around the Northern Hemisphere, these were found in an area with several colonies that were mostly finished blooming and starting to go to fruit just outside of Aspen, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains at about 8000-9000 feet in elevation. The curious thing about the ones in this area is that the labellum on each flower was pure white and the rest of the flower and stem was pure yellow.
    Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida)
  • A pair of yellow glacier lilies bloom inder a stand of ponderosa pines in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park.
    Glacier Lily
  • Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains is utterly beautiful throughout the year. In summer, it is surrounded by tall granite mountains and lined with millions of subalpine and montane wildflowers. In winter with fresh snow, it provides a view that's hard to beat. This particular section of the creek was found by accident while following a downy woodpecker through the snow on a chilly late January afternoon.
    Ingalls Creek - 6
  • Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains is utterly beautiful throughout the year. In summer, it is surrounded by tall granite mountains and lined with millions of subalpine and montane wildflowers. In winter with fresh snow, it provides a view that's hard to beat. This particular section of the creek was found by accident while following a downy woodpecker through the snow on a chilly late January afternoon.
    Ingalls Creek - 5
  • Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains is utterly beautiful throughout the year. In summer, it is surrounded by tall granite mountains and lined with millions of subalpine and montane wildflowers. In winter with fresh snow, it provides a view that's hard to beat. This particular section of the creek was found by accident while following a downy woodpecker through the snow on a chilly late January afternoon.
    Ingalls Creek - 4
  • Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains is utterly beautiful throughout the year. In summer, it is surrounded by tall granite mountains and lined with millions of subalpine and montane wildflowers. In winter with fresh snow, it provides a view that's hard to beat. This particular section of the creek was found by accident while following a downy woodpecker through the snow on a chilly late January afternoon.
    Ingalls Creek - 2
  • Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains is utterly beautiful throughout the year. In summer, it is surrounded by tall granite mountains and lined with millions of subalpine and montane wildflowers. In winter with fresh snow, it provides a view that's hard to beat. This particular section of the creek was found by accident while following a downy woodpecker through the snow on a chilly late January afternoon.
    Ingalls Creek - 1
  • Also known as the orange mountain dandelion, this native relative to the (non-native) common dandelion is found across most of Western Canada and the United States in mountain valleys and subalpine altitudes. The leaves are edible and can be used for fermented beverages! This one was found and photographed in the mountains above Aspen, Colorado in Pitkin County on a hot summer day.
    Orange Agoseris
  • Also known as the orange mountain dandelion, this native relative to the (non-native) common dandelion is found across most of Western Canada and the United States in mountain valleys and subalpine altitudes. The leaves are edible and can be used for fermented beverages! This one was found and photographed in the mountains above Aspen, Colorado in Pitkin County on a hot summer day.
    Orange Agoseris
  • Also known as skyrocket, scarlet gilia is a very tall member of the phlox family and a favorite of hummingbirds, various moths, elk and deer. It can be found throughout most of the western half of the United States and north into British Columbia in rocky deserts, mountain meadows, and subalpine rock fields. Once the scarlet gilia blooms, the whole plant dies, but pollinated seeds will grow the next generation of these spectacular wildflowers! This four-foot tall scarlet gilia was photographed deep in the desert canyons south of Ellensburg, Washington.
    Scarlet Gilia
  • Also known as skyrocket, scarlet gilia is a very tall member of the phlox family and a favorite of hummingbirds, various moths, elk and deer. It can be found throughout most of the western half of the United States and north into British Columbia in rocky deserts, mountain meadows, and subalpine rock fields. Once the scarlet gilia blooms, the whole plant dies, but pollinated seeds will grow the next generation of these spectacular wildflowers! This four-foot tall scarlet gilia was photographed deep in the desert canyons south of Ellensburg, Washington.
    Scarlet Gilia
  • The black huckleberry is considered by many to be the prize of the mountain berries. These juicy, sweet member of the blueberry family are found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean (with a few isolated locations eastward) and have been enjoyed by wildlife and humans for millennia. This official state fruit of Idaho is a particularly important food source for grizzly and black bears, and traditionally the Native Americans have been eating them in dozens of different ways: fresh, dried, smoked, crushed up in soups or mixed with salmon roe - to name a few. These huckleberries were photographed (then eaten) just below the tree line at the edge of a subalpine meadow in the North Cascades National Park, near the Canadian border in Washington State.
    Black Huckleberry
  • Also called the royal penstemon, this large and brilliantly purple native can reach 30" tall and is found in the more arid forests and mountainous subalpine or sagebrush steppe habitats of California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Idaho.
    Showy Penstemon
  • This uncommon member of the broomrape family is found at very high altitudes, such as this owl's clover found near the top of the tree line on Hurricane Ridge in Washington's Olympic Mountains. Here the habitat was a very rocky, open subalpine meadow within sight of late-summer mountain snow.
    Mountain Owl's Clover
  • Golden salmonberries ripe for the picking. These sometimes delicious, sometimes mushy fruits provide food for many animals across the PNW from sea level to nearly the subalpine regions of the Cascades and Olympic Mountains.
    Salmonberry
  • This small brown mushroom found growing mid-summer in the subalpine regions of Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains has been listed as very dangerous if not fatal.
    Deadly Cort
  • A close-up image of the very rare Cascade Red Fox, a subspecies found in the alpine and subalpine regions of many of the volcanic mountains of the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest. This beautiful subspecies is often nearly all black with silver or gray, and once flourished over much of Northwestern North America and is facing increasing pressure from climate change, invasive species like coyotes and humans, high-elevation logging and winter recreation sports such as snowmobiling and skiing. Not long before I got this shot, I spent part of a previous evening watching two pure-black kits (baby foxes) stalking and pouncing on each other in the snow in pure delight up in near the tree line on Mount Rainier.
    Cascade Red Fox
  • Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains is utterly beautiful throughout the year. In summer, it is surrounded by tall granite mountains and lined with millions of subalpine and montane wildflowers. In winter with fresh snow, it provides a view that's hard to beat. This particular section of the creek was found by accident while following a downy woodpecker through the snow on a chilly late January afternoon.
    Ingalls Creek - 7
  • Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains is utterly beautiful throughout the year. In summer, it is surrounded by tall granite mountains and lined with millions of subalpine and montane wildflowers. In winter with fresh snow, it provides a view that's hard to beat. This particular section of the creek was found by accident while following a downy woodpecker through the snow on a chilly late January afternoon.
    Ingalls Creek - 3
  • Not really a park, Spray Park is a mountainous region above Mount Rainier's Mowich Lake that comprises some of the most beautiful and spectacular subalpine meadows and beauty the Pacific Northwest has to offer. In midsummer, the sheer numbers of wildly colorful wildflowers, glacier views, and abundant wildlife make the long steep climb completely worth the effort. It's a purely magical place!
    On the Spray Park Trail
  • Snow-covered subalpine meadows and evergreens on Mount Rainier's southern slope.
    Winter Trees
  • Snow-covered subalpine meadows and evergreens on Mount Rainier's southern slope.
    Trees in Winter
  • The black huckleberry is considered by many to be the prize of the mountain berries. These juicy, sweet member of the blueberry family are found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean (with a few isolated locations eastward) and have been enjoyed by wildlife and humans for millennia. This official state fruit of Idaho is a particularly important food source for grizzly and black bears, and traditionally the Native Americans have been eating them in dozens of different ways: fresh, dried, smoked, crushed up in soups or mixed with salmon roe - to name a few. These huckleberries were photographed (then eaten) just below the tree line at the edge of a subalpine meadow in the North Cascades National Park, near the Canadian border in Washington State.
    Black Huckleberry
  • A young male Columbian black-tailed deer feeds on the mountain grasses and forbs in a subalpine meadow on Hurricane Ridge in Washington's Olympic Mountains.
    Columbian Black-tailed Buck
  • Also known as the edible thistle, his Pacific Northwest member of the aster family is found in alpine and subalpine forested mountains. The peeled stems can be eaten, and the flowers and seeds are a common food source for butterflies, bees, and birds. This one was found just below the top of Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains of Washington.
    Indian Thistle
  • Indian paintbrushes growing on a meadow hill on Mount Rainier. One of the most beautiful sights in the Pacific Northwest is to see huge sweeping views of subalpine meadows full of Indian paintbrushes, mixed with lupines, asters, and other summertime delights!
    Great Red Paintbrushes on Mount Rainier
  • This tiny nondescript orchid was growing in the middle of a gravel road north of Mount Rainier in Western Washington State. Surprised to see it doing so well on a dry and dusty road so high up in the many ridges climbing to the subalpine areas, I almost missed it as I was concentrating on keeping the car from going off the mountainside.
    Slender White Piperia (Piperia candida)
  • One of my very favorite wildflowers of the subalpine mountain meadows, the great red paintbrush can be found in great profusion with many other spectacular vibrant wildflowers when the snow melts in the summertime. The reason you won't find this in garden nurseries is that without its fellow wildflowers in their natural environment, it doesn't have its fellow neighboring plants to feed on. Yes - it's (at least partially) parasitic!
    Great Red Indian Paintbrush
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