Leslie organized another "Crest Run" today which was wonderful. It lifts my spirits so much to be able to run along the ridgeline and see the valleys on both sides and then through the flush, shadded canyon as we descend into Millcreak Canyon from Big Cottonwood Canyon. I was reviewing plants that I had previously looked up but couldn't remember very well.Three in particular:
1) The Nettleleaf Horsemint is a really distinctive plant as its head (like the end of a stock of wheat, hence its scientific name which comes from Greek for 'ear of grain'Agastache urticifolia). It is in the mint family (Lamiaceae, Lamiales order) and has a strong mint odor. The separate "grains" have purplish color on the ends (sepals) and then purple flowers (corolla) extended out further. It also has distinctive square stems. 2) Cranesbill (Geranium caespitosum) is mostly approaching the seed stage and the long "bills" poke out apparently before they hit a point where they explode and throw out their seeds. They are named after the bird Cranesbill because the seed pods look like the long beak of a bird. I thought it might be called an "indian needle" as it sticks sharply out. I found one that was still flowering and the flower was a pretty blue - five peddled flower. This family is the Geranium family (Geraniaceae, Geraniales Order - distant relative to the Rosids). The domestic Geranium plant actually goes by the genus name Pelargonium but is a cousin to the Cranesbill genus that is more hardy in the wild. One of my favorite parts of this plant is the leaves which have such a distictive and beautiful pattern - usually five different clefts each with its own jagged design. 3) Jessica came home from school and said her biology teacher said there were no pine trees in Utah, only other conifers. I know I see lots of pine trees around town planted in people's yards and in parks so I wondered if he meant "native" to Utah. Yet I know I've seen pine trees while out running. I knew there were some 5-needled white pine trees along the crest so this time as I was running past them I took a small sample of a typical branch with the 5-needle clusters, another branch with the male polen cones, and a typical cone from under the tree. Logan's Utah State has a wonderful website information about native Utah trees and they list six types of pine trees that are native to Utah. This one that I identified from the top of the crest trail is a Limber Pine (Pinus flexibis). The other 5-needled tree native to Utah is the long-lived (4,000 years old) Bristlecone Pine and of course the pinyon pine trees are native to Utah as I know Indians used to eat their nuts before the white man came. Two types of pinyon pines (Pinus edulis and Pinus monophylla). Then there are also two types of red-pine which have 2-3 needles per bundle that are native to Utah as well: Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) and Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa). Well I'm glad to Jessica's teacher for making such a strong statement that it caused me to prove her wrong and in doing so I learned a lot more about Utah's Pine trees! I also loved getting to know Leslie's son Tracy a little better on this run!
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