Last week I joined a group led by Amber Swanson and Emma Williams to participate in a CNPS rare plant survey on Bluff Mesa in the San Bernardino Mts. I was fortunate to be assigned to the meadow area which was probably the richest habitat in the area. I returned a few days later on my own to explore around a little more. My last visit to this area had been in early August 2009, so I wanted to see what might be blooming a month earlier. The picture above is of Bluff Lake Meadow looking north toward Forest Road 2N10 just beyond the trees. This gallery includes pictures from this meadow, and from the woodlands and meadow near the Champion Lodgepole Pine. The symbol ^ next to the common name indicates a taxon that was new to me when I photographed it on this pair of field trips, and an asterisk denotes a non-native species. Thanks to Jane Strong for help with the butterflies and Hartmut Wisch with the critter on the Madia glomerata.

Big Bear checkerbloom
Sidalcea pedata
Malvaceae

Nevada cinquefoil
Drymocallis lactea var. lactea
Rosaceae

Alpine shooting star
Dodecatheon alpinum
Ranunculaceae

Slender cinquefoil
Potentilla gracilis var. fastigiata
Rosaceae

Hairy owl's clover
Castilleja tenuis
Orobanchaceae