Wildflowers & Birds of the Stanley Basin
Saturday May 10th, 2003

"It was absolutely incredible to stand atop a Stanley Basin hill and hear Michael tell us that from there, we could see the entire range of the beautiful yellow draba. Amazingly, this draba (Draba trichocarpa), grows nowhere else on Earth!"  (Ellen Glaccum, outing participant)
 

A clear Sawtooth morning greeted our group, led by botanist Michael Mancuso, Boise, who works for Idaho Fish & Game Department’s Conservation Data Program. We first meandered around Stanley Lake Creek and Stanley Creek, where a highlight was finding tiny, exquisite steer’s head (Dicentra uniforma) and Cusick’s Primrose (Primula cusickiana). Near the Stanley Creek overlook, White leaf Frasera (Frasera Montana most likely - blossoms were not yet present) was common. The striking plant’s leaves have a distinctive white line on the edge.  

Near Stanley, we saw two species in the Mustard Family that are fairly common in the Stanley Basin, but grow no where else: Stanley whitlow-grass (Draba trichocarpa), and Stanley thlaspi aka Stanley Candy Tuft (Thlaspi idahoense var.aileeniae.) Another attractive mustard seen was the prostate bladderpod (Lesquerlla prostrata - was the tentative identification), notable by its spoon-shaped leaves.

We also learned that it’s easy to mix up two beautiful, similar-appearing flowers: Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata) in the Purslane Family, and dwarf hesperochiron ((hesperochiron pumilus) in the Waterleaf Family. A helpful hint: Spring Beauty has two sepals and the hesperochiron has five sepals!

The date of May 10th was prime for viewing many species like the rare mustards that thrive on shallow, rocky soils on south facing slopes. Later in the day, some folks headed to Little Redfish Lake where we saw a common loon, an uncommon sight in our area. All the flowers mentioned above are pictured in the slide show below. Note: we have tried to be accurate with common and scientific names, and any errors are BWCC’s responsibility! For more late Spring and early Summer wildflowers go to: News & Issues - Flora.

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