Cystopteris is a genus of ferns in the family Cystopteridaceae. These are known generally as bladderferns or fragile ferns. They grow in temperate areas worldwide. This is a very diverse genus and within a species individuals can look quite different, especially in harsh environments where stress stunts their growth. They hybridize easily with each other and identifying an individual can be challenging. In general these are rhizomatous perennials which grow in rocks or soil. Their leaves are multiply pinnate, in that each leaflet is divided into smaller parts. The sori are usually rounded and covered in an inflated bladder-like indusium.
Aspidotis densa is a species of fern in the Cheilanthoid subfamily, known by the common name Indian's dream or Serpentine fern or dense lace fern. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to California and east to the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming; there is a disjunct population on serpentine soils in Quebec.
Botrychium minganense is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common name Mingan moonwort. It is native to North America from Alaska and northern Canada to Arizona, where it is uncommon throughout most of its range, appearing at scattered spots in coniferous forests and marshy areas such as swamps.
Myriopteris gracillima, formerly known as Cheilanthes gracillima, is a species of lip fern known by the common name lace lip fern. It is native to western North America, where it grows in rocky habitat from British Columbia to California to Montana.
Cystopteris fragilis is a species of fern known by the common names brittle bladder-fern and common fragile fern. It can be found worldwide, generally in shady, moist areas. The leaves are up to 30 or 40 centimeters long and are borne on fleshy petioles with few or no long hairs. Each leaf is divided into many pairs of leaflets, each of which is subdivided into lobed segments. The underside of the leaf has many rounded sori containing the sporangia.
Cystopteris protrusa is a common fern of North America, commonly known as the lowland bladderfern, lowland brittle fern or lowland fragile fern.
Ranunculus gormanii is a species of buttercup known by the common name Gorman's buttercup. It is native to Oregon and northern California, where it grows in the Klamath Mountains and a section of the southern Cascade Range. It can be found in moist areas in mountain forests and meadows. It is a perennial herb producing prostrate stems which extend along the ground up to 20 centimeters in length, sometimes rooting at nodes that come in contact with wet substrate. The leaves have oval blades up to 4 centimeters wide which are borne on petioles up to 7 centimeters in length. Flowers have 5 to 7 shiny yellow petals each a few millimeters long and many stamens and pistils. The fruit is an achene borne in a spherical cluster of up to 15.
Romanzoffia californica is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name California mistmaiden. It is native to Oregon and northern California, where it grows in moist and wet habitat, such as coastal bluffs and mountain forests.
Romanzoffia sitchensis is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name Sitka mistmaiden. It is native to western North America from Alaska through British Columbia and Alberta to far northern California and Montana.
Packera macounii is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Siskiyou Mountains ragwort. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to far northern California, where it grows in chaparral and mountain forests, often on serpentine soils.
Sidalcea reptans is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name Sierra checkerbloom and Sierra checker mallow.
Streptanthus howellii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Howell's jewelflower. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. It grows in mountain forests on serpentine soils. It is a perennial herb producing a hairless, often waxy-textured stem up to 70 or 80 centimeters in maximum length. It is generally unbranched. The ephemeral basal leaves have fleshy oval blades with smooth or toothed edges, borne on petioles. Leaves farther up the stem are similar but smaller and narrower, with shorter petioles or none. They do not clasp the stem. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each has a calyx of purple sepals under a centimeter long with purple-tipped yellow petals emerging from the tip. The fruit is a thin, smooth, curved silique up to 12 centimeters long.
Streptanthus oliganthus is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Masonic Mountain jewelflower. It is native to western Nevada and eastern California, where it grows in the rocky hills east of the central Sierra Nevada. Its habitat includes forest, woodland, sagebrush, and mountain talus. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a hairless, waxy, usually unbranched stem up to about 40 or 50 centimeters in maximum height. The basal leaves have lance-shaped, smooth-edged blades up to 10 centimeters long borne on fuzzy to rough-haired petioles. Leaves higher on the stem have shorter blades which may clasp the stem at their bases. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. Each has a bell-shaped calyx of purple sepals no more than a centimeter long. The petals emerging from the tip are reddish purple or purple-tipped. The fruit is a smooth, flat, straight or slightly curved silique up to 8 to 10 centimeters long.
Streptanthus tortuosus is a biennial or short lived perennial plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) known by the common names shieldplant, shieldleaf, and mountain jewelflower.
Veronica regina-nivalis is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family known by the common name snowqueen, or snow queen. It is native to the Pacific coast of the United States from the Puget Sound to San Francisco Bay Area, where it grows in the forests of coastal and inland hills and mountains. It is a perennial herb growing up to about 15 centimeters tall. It has a rosette of basal leaves with hairy, lobed, heart-shaped or kidney-shaped blades borne on long petioles. The inflorescence is a small raceme of pale blue, lavender, or nearly white flowers each just under a centimeter long. The corollas are bell-shaped, the tube spreading into short lobes at the mouth, with two stamens tipped with large anthers.
Tauschia howellii is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names Howell's umbrellawort and Howell's tauschia. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of far southern Oregon and far northern California, where it is limited to nine occurrences in the Siskiyou Mountains. It grows in mountain forests on gravelly granite soils, often among stands of Shasta red fir. Despite its rarity it is stable and not considered very endangered. It is a perennial herb growing 30 to 80 centimeters tall. It is hairless in texture. The thick leaves have blades which are divided into leaflets large, sharp teeth and edges curved up, and borne on long petioles. The short inflorescence is a compound umbel of yellow flowers on a few short rays. The fruit is oblong, ribbed, and just a few millimeters long.
Vaccinium membranaceum is a species within the group of Vaccinium commonly referred to as huckleberry. This particular species is known by the common names thinleaf huckleberry, tall huckleberry, big huckleberry, mountain huckleberry, square-twig blueberry, and (ambiguously) as "black huckleberry".
Viola praemorsa is a species of violet known by the common names canary violet, Astoria violet, and yellow montane violet.
Viola renifolia is a species of violet known by the common names white violet and kidneyleaf violet. It is native to northern North America, where it has a widespread distribution across Canada and the northern United States as far south as Washington, Colorado, and New York.
Cystopteris utahensis, commonly called the Utah bladderfern is a rare species of fern found in canyons and on sheltered cliff faces with calcareous rocks. It mainly grows on the Colorado plateau in the western United States, but is also found in a few locations in southern New Mexico and an adjacent area of Texas. Studies of its genetics show that it originates from a natural hybrid of the species Cystopteris bulbifera and Cystopteris reevesiana.
