Blooming in Monument Valley Park – Aug 4

For a wrap-up of other areas and what’s been blooming, check out:
Blooming in Monument Valley Park – All Posts.

As promised, this week we’ll look at a couple of the berries and seedheads that you can now see in the park. I can’t resist adding a couple of new blooming plants as well. Many of the plants highlighted in last week’s post are still blooming as well.

Chokecherry
We’ll start at the parking lot where Fontanero Street ends at the park and head west down the hill. Turn right at the dumpster and walk north on the path. After about 1/4 mile, you will notice some LARGE shrubs on the east side of the path with lots of small red to reddish-black berries. This is our old friend the native chokecherry (Padus virginiana) that we saw blooming back in May. The berries are edible, though not terribly tasty (hence the name?) and a bit astringent. Reportedly, the riper, blacker berries are sweeter. The fruit are a favorite with bears and in other areas of town, it can be difficult to see many berries because of this.

 

Natives Blooming in Monument Valley Park – June 9

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m now visiting and posting what’s blooming in two separate areas in the northern part of MVP.

One note before looking at the specific areas – I’ve noticed hundreds (maybe more!) of wild onions (Allium textile) coming up in other areas of the park now, so you may see them if you take a longer walk. The Cowboy’s Delight (Sphaeralcea coccinea) is also showing up in other areas. With their bright orange flower color, you think they’d really jump out, but their small size really keeps them hidden a bit.

Area 1

Park at the small lot where Fontanero ends at the park, and start walking north.

Most of what was blooming last week is still going here. The list is long, so rather than list them all again, please see last week’s post.

There is one addition that I hope will still be there if you go:

Oxybaphus nyctagineus

Four O’Clock (Oxybaphus nyctagineus)
There is one specimen actually growing right in the rocks of the drainage area right near the parking lot. The little hot pink flowers make this stand out pretty clearly. Sources say it drops the petals pretty quickly after blooming, leaving what looks like a green flower behind. (See www.easterncoloradowildflowers.com/_s_3frame.htm) It is a native but considered a weed in many areas.