Reddish is a more accurate term for today’s Mineral King wildflowers. I am including orange and pinkish flowers too. Someone pointed out to me once that red is very uncommon in nature. It is used for accents rather than in large amounts.
Here are some oranges:
Much brighter orange in person than this anemic photo – I never noticed it before this year and have no idea what its name is.Western Wallflower is a tricky one – sometimes it is orange, sometimes it is yellow.This is a lichen, not a flower. The color was irresistible! (It might be a little smaller than a quarter, in case you were thinking of pouring some Cap’n Crunch into it.)
Now, reds.
Indian PaintbrushIndian Paintbrush againPenstemon, Goldenbeard penstemon, or California fuchsia? Beats me, it is striking. (You know you want to laugh at that. . .)Crimson ColumbineMore of the striking penstemon.
Pinks are sort of red, red plus white. They certainly don’t belong with white, blue, or yellow.
Elephant HeadAnother penstemon, called “Pride of the Mountains”Heather or Laurel? I’m going with Red Heather (ignore the phlox in the background – they already had their turn.)I don’t know this delicate little pinkish thing that resembles manzanita but is very low to the ground.Have I ever seen this before? It seems to be everywhere this year. I think it will turn into a berry.ThistleShooting Star – often more purplish than pinkish, sometimes named “Jeffrey”Pussy-paws. They have never been so tall!
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Thank you for sharing these beautiful flowers. Where do you see the columbine? In Ohio, it’s on the limestone cliffs along a stream bank.
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