Here's two flowers I still can't find in my books. Both are from the Cathedral Mountain Lakes area in Southern BC near Keremeos, at around elevation 7000 feet. Early this week, roughly two weeks after snow melt. Can you direct me on either of these two?? I posted two more interesting ones also from the Cathedrals, - posted them in the wrong category I believe: That thread is the top item right now in the first category on the home page...under general plants and that. (So if there's a way to switch forum categories....)
The first is a valerian, I think Valeriana sitchensis. The second, hmm... something in the Apiaceae. Lomatium brandegeei? If so, nice find -- that's a blue-listed species in the province. I note from E-Flora BC that there are recordings of it from Cathedral PP, so that's making me a bit more confident in the identification. How was access to the high alpine? Still snowed in?
I had been looking at lomatium in my book, especially martindale's lomatium and it was not a fit. With your mention of lomatium brandegeei, I've now googled that and Hurray! Yep That's it. Funny to think the other was a valerian. My intuition told me this was something very common and I should be able to find it and thus I was embarrassed to post it! I guess I'm just so used to seeing it later. Indeed we walked up over some heavy snow patches, but we were able to reach the RIM, the summits at the Cathedrals, last week! I think they are the first place in the province to clear - and they are a month late, as is everywhere.