Wondering whose seedheads these are? Photographed in late July of 2016 off of Lake Tahoe hiking trails. I've always adored this forum! So many are so knowledgeable! who
Have trimmed your pic to see the leaves. Going by the leaves in bottom left pic dsc8685 ....it looks like Dryas octopetala. dryas octopetala seed head - Google Search
Well, that's a conundrum. Are you sure you photographed it along Lake Tahoe? These don't seem to be native to California or Nevada, but it is definitely a Dryas.
Dryas is the logo for The Scottish Rock Garden Club. scottish rock garden club logo - Google Search After I posted I looked to see where Lake Tahoe was. Then thought ooops! Source: Wikipedia Dryas octopetala, the mountain avens,[2] eightpetal mountain-avens, white dryas or white dryad,[3] is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies. The specific epithet octopetala derives from the Greek octo (eight) and petalon (petal), referring to the eight petals of the flower, an unusual number in the Rosaceae, where five is the normal number. However, flowers with up to 16 petals also occur naturally. As a floral emblem, it is the official territorial flower of the Northwest Territories and the national flower of Iceland.
