Day 278: One of the highlights of yesterday's botanizing trip was finding Gentiana calycosa already in bloom. Normally this late bloomer heralds the end of the season, not emerging until September. Like so many other wildflowers this year...
"Wait a minute, Crow...isn't Gentian supposed to be blue?"
Ah, you caught that, did you? Indeed, your typical Mountain Bog Gentian is one of the bluest things you'll ever see, but occasionally, a white individual crops up. This is not a faded plant, as you will readily note if you observe the buds beside the open flowers. Nor is it a different species. It is an uncommon colour variation of the Gentian you know and love. Dusty rose-pink specimens occur even more rarely. Hikers in Gentian country are more likely to find the "bleached denim" variation, a washed-out blue.
Like so many other wildflowers this year, the Gentians are ahead of schedule by about six weeks. Already, wildflower season has passed its peak in Mount Rainier National Park. What will the meadows look like in late August? And what does this early season portend for the pollinators, many of which are species-specific? Will they die off? Or is it possible that our written history fails to show the broader picture, omitting observations of species in similar times of stress? Will they shift to another plant, or will only the hardiest survive? Each question we ask raises dozens more. This is a fascinating time to be a naturalist, for sure, but also an unsettling one.
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