alpine flower id help again, please...

These were both seen on the Bondcliff Ridge on Saturday.


The leaves of this one are similar to three-toothed cinquefoil...






This may be Prenanthes Nana...






Thanks for any help!

forestgnome said:

The leaves of this one is similar to three-toothed cinquefoil...

Click to expand...

that is three-toothed cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata), just that the petals are gone.

This may be Prenanthes Nana...

Click to expand...

probably... I forget which Prenanthes spp. are up in the alpine zone, I think there are 3 of them: P. boottii (white flower head w/ more ray flowers; this one is cream colored), P. nana and P. trifoliolata. The ID is a little difficult & you should look at the leaves as well as the flowers. (if 3-lobed then I think P. trifoliolata is a safe bet. Do a google search on "MNAP Prenanthes" and you should find Maine's fact sheets which cover 2 of the 3 species.

(sorry for the delayed response, I'm on vaca out in Montana.)

Apologies for the lousy photo. I looked closely at the white flowers and Im convinced they're rosacean. But the leaves have me perplexed. The flowers are associated with those cardioid leaves, which occur in loose clumps, not at all like the usual triplets you see for strawberry, and the leaves are totally the wrong shape for any cinquefoil i'm familiar with.

There were several patches of these; the flowers only occur alongside the cardioid leaves, and vice versa.

This was in a damp mostly-sunny spot (bank of a wide stream). Everything in the photo is small - the cardioid leaves are only an inch or so long.

arghman said:

that is three-toothed cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata), just that the petals are gone.

Click to expand...

Montana?! lucky dog!

I thought I had a plant with five wedge-shaped petals instead of round shaped petals. Is that a different part of the plant's anatomy? The leaves do have the two notches, but they seem to be shaped a little differently and less shiny, but maybe not.

How about Dalibarda repens?

That's it, thanks Audrey.

Indeed a member of the rose family, common names include "dewdrop", "robin runaway", and "false violet."

"Flowers with white petals (as seen in the photo) are mostly sterile. Dewdrop also produces cleistogamous flowers -- flowers that never open, but produce seed by self-fertilization. The cleistogamous flowers are inconspicuous, as they have no petals and they remain hidden beneath the leaves."

It's listed as rare or endangered in a half-dozen states, but not in New Hampshire, where my photo was taken.

Can anyone verify if this is mountain sandwort?

It looks like it to me. There is also a rock sandwort (Minuartia michauxii), with stiff leaves and a more open flowering habit. Mountain sandwort (Minuartia groenlandica) often has notched petals, which those in your picutre seem to have.

Thanks, Audrey.