Nature at Lake Tahoe

Leucanthemum maximum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name max chrysanthemum. It is native to France and Spain but it can be found growing wild in other parts of the world as an introduced species and sometimes a garden escapee. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing 30 to 70 centimeters tall with many large serrated leaves around the base of the stem on winged petioles. There are... less ↑

Lewisia nevadensis is a species of flowering plant in the Montiaceae family known by the common name Nevada lewisia. It is native to much of the western United States, where it grows in moist mountain habitat, such as meadows. This is a small perennial herb growing from a taproot and caudex unit. It produces a basal rosette of several narrow, fingerlike to threadlike fleshy leaves up to 13 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a bundle of... less ↑

Ligusticum grayi is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Gray's licorice-root. It is native to the western United States from Montana to California, where it grows in moist, mountainous habitat, such as meadows and forest floors. It is a carrotlike, perennial herb growing from a taproot to heights between 20 and 80 centimeters. The leaves are like those of its relatives, including celery, each divided into several leaflets... less ↑

Lonicera conjugialis is a species of honeysuckle known by the common name purpleflower honeysuckle. It is native to the western United States from Pacific Northwest to the Sierra Nevada, where it grows in many types of mountain habitat, especially moist areas. This is a slender shrub often exceeding 1.5 meters in erect height. The lightly hairy leaves are oval to round and 2 to 8 centimeters long. The inflorescence is generally a pair of flowers nestled... less ↑

Lupinus breweri is a species of lupine known by the common names Brewer's lupine and matted lupine. It is native to much of California, except for the deserts, and to adjacent sections of Oregon and Nevada, where it is common in some areas, particularly mountain forests. Quite short for a lupine, this is a hairy, mat-forming perennial herb, sometimes becoming like a shrub, with a woody base. The leaves spread out from the stem. Each palmate... less ↑

Mentha longifolia (Horse mint; syn. M. spicata var. longifolia L., M. sylvestris L., M. tomentosa D'Urv, M. incana Willd.) is a species in the genus Mentha (mint) native to Europe, western and central Asia (east to Nepal and the far west of China), and northern and southern (but not tropical) Africa. It is a very variable herbaceous perennial plant with a peppermint-scented aroma. Like many mints, it has a creeping rhizome, with erect less ↑

Menyanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species Menyanthes trifoliata. The name Menyanthes comes from the Greek words menyein, meaning "disclosing", and anthos, meaning "flower", in reference to the sequential opening of flowers on the inflorescence. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names less ↑

Micranthes aprica is a species of saxifrage known by the common name Sierra saxifrage. It is native to the high mountains of California, including the Sierra Nevada and the southern Cascade Range, and adjacent slopes in southern Oregon and western Nevada. It grows in mountain habitat in areas of alpine climate, such as meadows and next to streams of snowmelt. It is a perennial herb which spends most of the year in a dormant state in... less ↑

Micranthes odontoloma is a species of flowering plant known by the common name brook saxifrage. It is native to much of western North America, where it can be found in many types of moist and rocky habitat types. It is a perennial herb growing from a caudex and rhizome system. It produces a clump of leaves with rounded, toothed, or scalloped blades on long, thin petioles. The branching inflorescence arises on a slender, erect peduncle up... less ↑

Montia linearis is a species of flowering plant in the Montiaceae family known by the common names narrowleaf miner's lettuce and narrow-leafed montia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Utah, where it grows in moist to wet areas in a number of habitat types, including forests and meadows, woodlands, and grassland. The plant is also known from some areas of the southeastern United States, including Mississippi. less ↑

Nuphar polysepala (the great yellow pond-lily or wokas; syn. Nuphar polysepalum orth. err., Nuphar lutea subsp. polysepala (Engelm.) E.O.Beal) is a species of Nuphar native to western North America. The name Nuphar is Greek for "water-lily" and polysepala means many sepals. It is commonly found in shallow muddy ponds from northern Alaska and Yukon southward to central California and northern New Mexico, and can be recognized easily by its la less ↑

Oenothera xylocarpa is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name woodyfruit evening primrose. It is native to the Sierra Nevada of California, its range extending just into western Nevada. It grows in coniferous forest and meadow habitat, often in soils rich in pumice and other gravel. It is a perennial herb growing from a thick taproot and producing a flat, dense rosette of hairy, gray-green leaves. There is... less ↑

Paeonia brownii is a low to medium height, herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae. It has compound, steely-gray, somewhat fleshy leaves and small drooping maroon flowers. Its vernacular name is Brown's peony, native peony or western peony. It is native to the western United States and usually grows at altitude, often as undergrowth in part-shade. The fleshy roots store food to carry the plant through the dry summers and produce new leaves less ↑

Penstemon gracilentus is a species of penstemon known by the common names slender beardtongue and slender penstemon. It is native to the mountains and sagebrush plateau of northeastern California, western Nevada, and southern Oregon, where it grows in forest, woodland, and scrub habitat. It is a perennial herb producing upright branches to about 65 centimeters in maximum height, the stems developing woody bases. The leaves are up to 10 centimeters in length and linear less ↑

Penstemon laetus is a species of penstemon known by the common names mountain blue penstemon and gay penstemon. It is native to the inland mountains of Oregon and California, where its distribution extends from the Klamath Mountains through the Sierra Nevada to the Transverse Ranges. It grows in forest, scrub, and other local mountain habitat. It is a perennial herb growing erect to about 75 centimeters tall, its base becoming woody. The leaves are linear to... less ↑

Penstemon roezlii is a species of penstemon known by the common name Roezl's penstemon. It is native to Oregon, western Nevada, and adjacent sections of northern California, including the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada, where it grows in sagebrush and forest habitat types. It is a hairy, erect perennial herb growing to a maximum height of 55 centimeters from a woody, branching base. The leaves are up to 7 centimeters long, linear to widely lance-shaped and... less ↑

Penstemon speciosus is a species of penstemon known by the common name royal penstemon. It is native to the western United States where it can be found in many types of habitat, including plateau and foothill scrub and subalpine mountain forests. It is a perennial herb growing erect to a maximum height near 60 centimeters. The leaves are usually lance-shaped and sometimes folded lengthwise, measuring up to 9 centimeters long. They are arranged oppositely and often... less ↑

Perideridia parishii is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Parish's yampah. It is native to mountainous regions of the southwestern United States, where it grows in forests and other habitat. It is a perennial herb growing up to 90 centimeters tall, its slender green stem growing from a small tuber. Leaves near the base of the plant have blades 10 to 20 centimeters long divided into pairs of... less ↑

Persicaria amphibia (syn. Polygonum amphibium) is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including longroot smartweed, water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to much of North America, Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa, and it is known elsewhere as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. less ↑

Phlox diffusa is a species of phlox known by the common name spreading phlox. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to the southwestern United States to the Dakotas, where it grows in many types of habitat, including rocky, high elevation mountain slopes. It is a very compact mat-forming perennial herb growing in cushions or patches of short, decumbent stems. The linear, lance-shaped, or needle-like leaves are no more than 1.5 centimeters long... less ↑

Polemonium occidentale is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names western polemonium and western Jacob's-ladder. There are two subspecies. The common ssp. occidentale is native to western North America from British Columbia to Colorado to California, where it can be found in moist areas of many habitat types, including meadows and woodlands. There is also a rare subspecies, ssp. lacustre, which is known only from a total less ↑

Porterella is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the bellflower family containing the single species Porterella carnosula, which is known by the common name fleshy porterella, or simply porterella. It is native to the western United States from California to Wyoming, where it grows in moist spots, such as ponds or wet grasslands, sometimes just at the edge of the water or partially submerged. It is an annual herb producing an erect stem to a... less ↑

Pseudostellaria jamesiana is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common names tuber starwort and sticky starwort. It is native to much of the western United States, where it can be found in sagebrush, coniferous forests, and many other types of habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from a rhizome network with tuberlike swellings. The stem grows up to 45 to 60 centimeters in maximum height. It is four-angled and... less ↑

Pyrola asarifolia, commonly known as liverleaf wintergreen, bog wintergreen or pink wintergreen, is a plant species of the genus Pyrola native to western North America. It is found primarily on forest margins at mid latitude in the Pacific Northwest and northern California. It is so named simply because its leaves maintain their green color through winter. less ↑

Ranunculus alismifolius is a species of buttercup known by the common name plantainleaf buttercup. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist mountain habitat such as meadows, streambanks, and bogs, becoming common to abundant in some places. It is somewhat variable in appearance and there are several varieties which can be hard to tell apart. In general the plant is a perennial herb producing a... less ↑

Ranunculus cymbalaria is a species of buttercup known by the common names alkali buttercup and seaside buttercup. It is native to much of Eurasia and parts of North and South America, where it grows in many types of habitat, especially in moist to wet areas such as marshes, bogs, and moist spring meadows. It is a perennial herb producing several stems a few centimeters to nearly 40 centimeters long. Some are prostrate against the ground and... less ↑

Rhododendron columbianum, commonly known as western Labrador tea, is a shrub that is widespread in the western United States and in western Canada, reported from British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado. It grows in wet places from sea level up to 3,500 m (11,000 ft). It was formerly known as Ledum columbianum. less ↑

Ribes montigenum is a species of currant known by the common names mountain gooseberry, alpine prickly currant, western prickly gooseberry,and gooseberry currant. It is native to western North America from Washington south to California and east as far as the Rocky Mountains, where it grows in high mountain habitat types in subalpine and alpine climates, such as forests and talus. It is a spreading shrub growing up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, the branchi less ↑

Rorippa subumbellata is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names Lake Tahoe yellowcress and Tahoe yellow cress. It is known only from the shores of Lake Tahoe, straddling the border between California and Nevada. There are an estimated fourteen populations of the plant still in existence. It grows only on the direct shoreline of the lake, occupying a seven-foot semi-aquatic zone between the high- and low-tide marks. It... less ↑

Sceptridium multifidum is a fern species in the Ophioglossaceae (Adder's tongue family), known by the common names leathery grapefern and leathery moonwort. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North America, where it is widespread and grows in moist areas in many habitat types. This is a fleshy, leathery plant growing from a small caudex with thin, corky roots. It produces a single leaf which emerges directly from the ground. It is divided into a sterile... less ↑

Senecio integerrimus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names lambstongue ragwort and tall western groundsel. It is native to western and central North America, where it grows in grassland, forest, and other habitat. It is a biennial or perennial herb producing a single erect stem 20 to 70 centimeters tall from a caudex with a fleshy root. The linear to lance-shaped or triangular leaves have blades up to... less ↑

Sibbaldia procumbens is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name creeping sibbaldia. It has a circumpolar distribution; it can be found throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere from Arctic regions into higher-elevation temperate areas. It grows on tundra and in alpine climates where snow remains year-round, and on subalpine mountain slopes. This is a low, mat-forming perennial herb producing clumps of herbage in rocky, grave less ↑

Solidago elongata, commonly called West Coast Canada goldenrod or Cascade Canada goldenrod, is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is native to western Canada, western United States, and northwestern Mexico, primarily in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and Baja California, with a few populations in Nevada and Idaho. It grows in the Coast Ranges, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and other mountain ranges in the regi less ↑

Sorbus californica, the California mountain ash, is an aggregate species of Rowans native to western North America and sometimes cultivated. It has orange-red fruit and leaflets that are toothed almost from base to apex, but is said to be most often confounded with the western North American species S. occidentalis which has pinkish fruit and leaflets with few teeth. less ↑

Sparganium angustifolium is a species of flowering plant in the cat-tail family known by the common names floating bur-reed and narrowleaf bur-reed. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is an aquatic plant, growing in water up to 2.5 meters deep. Its habitat includes acidic, low-nutrient freshwater bodies such as ponds, lakes, slow-moving streams, and ditches. It can become abundant, practically less ↑

Spiraea splendens is a shrub of the Rose Family (Rosaceae) native to the western mountains of North America, from California to British Columbia, commonly known as dense-flowered spiraea, rose meadowsweet, rosy spiraea, subalpine spiraea, and mountain spiraea. It is commonly found at elevations between 2,000 and 11,000 feet on inland mountain ranges. The plant is adapted to cold, moist, rocky slopes, subalpine forests and meadows. less ↑

Stellaria longipes is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common name longstalk starwort. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northernmost latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in a wide variety of habitat types, including tundra and taiga and many areas farther south with subalpine and alpine climates. It is extremely variable in morphology, its form depending on both genetic makeup and environmental conditions. It ha less ↑

Valeriana californica is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family known by the common name California valerian. It is native to Oregon, northeastern California, and Nevada, where it occurs in moist, forested mountain habitat. It is an erect herb up to half a meter tall with whorls or opposite pairs of deeply lobed leaves at intervals along stem. The inflorescence is a cyme of many funnel-shaped white or pink-tinged flowers each about half a... less ↑