Late summer is the season to get high – in elevation that is! We will visit the Monitor Pass area along Highway 89 between Markleeville and Highway 395. We will make several stops along the Highway to explore the unique flora of the High Sierra. This area encompasses both sub-alpine and high desert environments, so we may see representatives of both floras. We’ll see conifers including single-leaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla), Sierra juniper (Juniperus grandis), and Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), and shrubs such as tobacco brush (Ceanothus velutina), mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus), antelope brush (Purshia tridentata), and various species of sagebrush (Artemisia). We can expect many Sunflower family members besides sagebrush, such as mountain mule ears (Wyethia mollis), balsam roots (Balsamorhiza), and rabbitbrushes (Ericameria). Several onion species (Allium) grow here, as do milkvetches (Astragalus) and lupines (Lupinus). We may be lucky and find blooming Kelley’s lily (Lilium kelleyanum), a late-blooming lily, or, perhaps, stands of Leichtlin’s mariposa lily (Calochortus leichtlinii). Let’s keep an eye out for broomrapes, Aphyllon species, too. The paintbrushes may be dotting the landscape with bright colors (Castilleja), and prickly poppy might be at their peak (Argemone munita). Penstemons (Penstemon), too, might be out and about with their flowers. We may find some late-blooming members of the Phlox family also (Polemoniaceae). Buckwheats (Eriogonum) love it here, too.