Common name:
Snowlover
Family:
Scientific name:
Chionophila jamesii
Main flower color:
Range:
The southern Rocky Mountains: Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico
Height:
Up to 4 inches
Habitat:
Moist, rocky areas in the alpine and tundra zones
Leaves:
Thick; spatulate or oblanceolate at the base and up to 4 inches long, linear and much shorter higher up the stem
Season:
June to August
Leaves of chionophila jamesii are dark green, the stems purple, and the petals white with a distinct brown edge. The plant is a low growing species, relatively uncommon, found in high elevation areas of the southern Rocky Mountains, in rocky or gravelly places.
Flowers form at one side of a spiked inflorescence; they have a flattered, two-lipped corolla enclosing four purple-tipped stamens and one staminode, which is hairless, unlike the many, somewhat similar penstemon species. The thick green leaves are mostly basal, but point upwards, and are about the same length as the flower stalk - up to 4 inches. Plants have a small number of flowerheads, in the range 3 to 10.
Flowers form at one side of a spiked inflorescence; they have a flattered, two-lipped corolla enclosing four purple-tipped stamens and one staminode, which is hairless, unlike the many, somewhat similar penstemon species. The thick green leaves are mostly basal, but point upwards, and are about the same length as the flower stalk - up to 4 inches. Plants have a small number of flowerheads, in the range 3 to 10.
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