Lewisia columbiana

Lewisia columbiana at USDA Plants Profile
Lewisia columbiana at Burke Museum, University of Washington

Fortune Creek Pass, Teanaway
Kittitas County, Washington
i071908 110

Polystichum lemmonii the signature fern for serpentine soil

Arthur Kruckeberg: "Of the western ferns on serpentine, only Polystichum lemmonii is obligate,"
Source Hardy Fern Library

Dryopteridaceae
Fern
Lemmon's holly-fern, Shasta fern

A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle.
The soils derived from ultramafic bedrock give rise to unusual and sparse associations of edaphic (and often endemic) plants that are tolerant of extreme soil conditions, including:
low calcium:magnesium ratio
lack of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus and
high concentrations of the heavy metals (more common in ultramafic rocks)

These plants are commonly called serpentine endemics, if they grow only on these soils. (Serpentinite is composed of the mineral serpentine, but the two terms are often both used to mean the rock, not its mineral composition.)

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_soil accessed 14 Aug 2010

Esmerelda Basin
Teanaway, Kittitas Co. Washington, USA
On serpentine rock and soil
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Platanthera on USDA PLANTS profile

Platanthera dilatata White Bog Orchid, Esmerelda Basin, Teanaway, Kittitas county, Washington

i071908 034

Meadow Fritillary (Boloria bellona) on bugguide
Thanks to Kaylee Skylyn for the ID

Esmerelda Basin, Teanaway

i071908 021

Mimulus on Ingalls saddle not sure what species - my bst estimate (with help from Belinda) is that this is Mimulus tilingii based on the facts that

1) M. guttatus stems have more flowers, often over five; M. tilingii often has only one-to-three flowers per stem.

Ingalls Lake Trail

about 1800 meters (6000 feet)

Claytonia megarhiza var. megarhiza
Portulacaceae Dicot
Claytonia megarhiza at Burke Museum

Claytonia megarhiza at PLANTS profile USDA

Genus Claytonia L. – springbeauty
Species Claytonia megarhiza (A. Gray) Parry ex S. Watson – alpine springbeauty

Ingalls Lake trail, Teanaway, Kittitas County, Washington, USA

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On serpentine rock and soil, Ingalls Lake trail, Kittitas County, Washington, USA

From Mark Egger:
"Castilleja elmeri, in one of it's many other color forms. This is a serpentine endemic. It's by far the most common paintbrush along the Ingall's Lake trail"

i090909 235

Castilleja elmeri growing with Polystichum lemmonii - Shasta Fern
From Mark Egger:
" this species comes in many color forms, all of them beautiful. I have almost 200 pics of it from various places in the Cascades -- I'll post them (some) at some timein the future. Most are either yellow (like this) or intense red, but they also vary to coppery orange and, in one population, pink to magenta."

On serpentine rock and soil, Ingalls Lake trail, Kittitas County, Washington, USA

i090909 229

Polystichum lemmonii the signature fern for serpentine soil growing with Castilleja elmeri

Arthur Kruckeberg: "Of the western ferns on serpentine, only Polystichum lemmonii is obligate,"
Source Hardy Fern Library

Dryopteridaceae
Fern
Lemmon's holly-fern, Shasta fern

A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle.
The soils derived from ultramafic bedrock give rise to unusual and sparse associations of edaphic (and often endemic) plants that are tolerant of extreme soil conditions, including:
low calcium:magnesium ratio
lack of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus and
high concentrations of the heavy metals (more common in ultramafic rocks)

These plants are commonly called serpentine endemics, if they grow only on these soils. (Serpentinite is composed of the mineral serpentine, but the two terms are often both used to mean the rock, not its mineral composition.)

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_soil accessed 14 Aug 2010

On serpentine rock and soil, Ingalls Lake trail, Kittitas County, Washington, USA

i090909 228

Polystichum lemmonii the signature fern for serpentine soil

Arthur Kruckeberg: "Of the western ferns on serpentine, only Polystichum lemmonii is obligate,"
Source Hardy Fern Library

Dryopteridaceae
Fern
Lemmon's holly-fern, Shasta fern

A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle.
The soils derived from ultramafic bedrock give rise to unusual and sparse associations of edaphic (and often endemic) plants that are tolerant of extreme soil conditions, including:
low calcium:magnesium ratio
lack of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus and
high concentrations of the heavy metals (more common in ultramafic rocks)

These plants are commonly called serpentine endemics, if they grow only on these soils. (Serpentinite is composed of the mineral serpentine, but the two terms are often both used to mean the rock, not its mineral composition.)

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_soil accessed 14 Aug 2010

On serpentine rock and soil, Ingalls Lake trail, Kittitas County, Washington, USA

i090909 225