Pings at Mt. Rainier
Along a much-traveled road in Mt. Rainier National Park, clinging to a canyon wall grows Pinguicula vulgaris,* unseen by almost all who drive by. The stone wall drips with moisture supplied by the melting snows from the high country up above.
The flowers droop due to the constant flow of water running off of them.
* This species i.d. is supplied by two different local plant field guides though there might be an argument to be made that the species is really P. macroceras. Oddly, USDA Plants.gov's distribution map shows P. vulgaris only dropping to the US-Canada border and not into Washington State. I believe there have been disputes over these two species in the past.
Along a much-traveled road in Mt. Rainier National Park, clinging to a canyon wall grows Pinguicula vulgaris,* unseen by almost all who drive by. The stone wall drips with moisture supplied by the melting snows from the high country up above.
The flowers droop due to the constant flow of water running off of them.
* This species i.d. is supplied by two different local plant field guides though there might be an argument to be made that the species is really P. macroceras. Oddly, USDA Plants.gov's distribution map shows P. vulgaris only dropping to the US-Canada border and not into Washington State. I believe there have been disputes over these two species in the past.