horned dandelion, Taraxacum ceratophorum
horned dandelion, Taraxacum ceratophorum, California, White Mountains, Sheep Mountain, White Mountain Road, Fishlake Valley drainage, elevation 3607 m (11835 ft).
The most exciting dandelion of my life -- an actual native species! Distinguished by its involucral bracts being all erect, appressed, and horn-tipped, these tiny alpine plants might have escaped our notice if not for the one flowering plant we saw. This location appears to be a worldwide elevation record for the species, by about 500 meters (1600 feet), which may explain the apparent frostbitten heads on some plants. No doubt it completes its life cycle very quickly at this elevation, making it even harder to detect. Like many of the local alpine species, it extends from this southwestern range limit northward through the mountains of western North America into the boreal and Arctic regions of the entire northern hemisphere.
Also visible in this image is cushion phlox (Phlox pulvinata).
horned dandelion, Taraxacum ceratophorum
horned dandelion, Taraxacum ceratophorum, California, White Mountains, Sheep Mountain, White Mountain Road, Fishlake Valley drainage, elevation 3607 m (11835 ft).
The most exciting dandelion of my life -- an actual native species! Distinguished by its involucral bracts being all erect, appressed, and horn-tipped, these tiny alpine plants might have escaped our notice if not for the one flowering plant we saw. This location appears to be a worldwide elevation record for the species, by about 500 meters (1600 feet), which may explain the apparent frostbitten heads on some plants. No doubt it completes its life cycle very quickly at this elevation, making it even harder to detect. Like many of the local alpine species, it extends from this southwestern range limit northward through the mountains of western North America into the boreal and Arctic regions of the entire northern hemisphere.
Also visible in this image is cushion phlox (Phlox pulvinata).