Participant Info

Species

Mertensia lateriflora

Family

Boraginaceae

CommonName

Alpine bluebells

Presence

yes

Status

EarliestDate

2009

LatestDate

2023

Ecosystem

montane

Geobotanical

Garitas, SSanjuans

Counties

Hinsdale, Mineral, Saguache

Passes

Poncha

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES: Lauren, Saguache Co, Poncha Pass, 25 May 2023

Comments

There is only one voucher of Mertensia lateriflora from the Watershed, but the collector and determiner was Mare Nazaire, Mertensia specialist. The location was Wagon Wheel Gap in Mineral Co, at the junction of Hwy 149 and FR 600 (Pool Table Road), in July of 2009. iNaturalist provides additional and later record dates: Hinsdale Co, Thirtymile cpgd, 11 July 2020 (observation #171474291); Mineral Co, Creede, 15 July 2022 (observation #134425231); Saguache Co, Poncha pass, 25 May 2023 (observation #163689835). The species has been recorded from the Gunnison River drainage, and may be one of those flowers (such as Aliciella penstemonoides) that cross the National Divide via the Rio Grande and Gunnison watersheds. M. lateriflora is a Colorado endemic and has also been found in Chaffee, Park, and Larimer counties.

Annotation