Soda Flowers

It seems that Soda Springs is far enough away to have several flowers entirely new to me...but there are still some very familiar ones. I'll stick to the familiar ones for now.

I'd be surprised if any Idaho residents haven't seen this along the road at some point. It's showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. It seems that milkweed contains poisonous alkaloids...but they are destroyed by cooking.


Here we have "scarlet gilia," aka skyrocket, aka Ipimopsis aggregata. Despite the name, it also comes in white, pink, and white with pink spots.


Note the interesting patterning on the bud that isn't fully out yet. This is either a Nodding thistle, Carduus nutans, or a Plumeless thistle, C. acanthoides. The difference is whether the flowerheads "nod" or stay upright. These seem to be upright, so I figure it's probably Plumeless thistle.


And this one is almost familiar. It's probably a variety of harebell. I just can't find one that grows with its flowers "all in a row" like this. No, I take that back. After looking up "raceme, n : usually elongate cluster of flowers along the main stem in which the flowers at the base open first," I figure this is common harebell, Campanula rotundifolia.