Participant Info

Species

Veratrum californicum [ Veratrum speciosum] [Veratrum tenuipetalum]

Family

Melanthiaceae

CommonName

false hellebore, Western skunk cabbage, corn lily

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1900

LatestDate

2019

Ecosystem

montane, subalpine, tundra

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos

Counties

Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, Archuleta, San Juan

Passes

Cumbres, Indian Creek, La Manga, Music, South, Stony, Wolf Creek

WildlifePreserves

Big Meadows Reservoir

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Mineral Co, Big Meadows Res, upper end 29 May 2017

Comments

In the Watershed, Western skunk cabbage is most commonly recorded from moist open slopes in the upper montane, often seen in large colonies. Veratrum californicum predominantly occurs in the south San Juans, only occasionally found in the Cristos. It's truly a Western plant, found in all states west of the Great Plains except for Montana. It follows the Rio Grande drainage mountains of New Mexico to the border with Mexico, but does not extend into Texas.

Annotation