Last June I took a hike thanks to a friend scouting for the Eriogonum Society conference; it was a great opportunity to see another new example of the puddles of plants that are isolated in the "sky islands" of small mountain ranges in the Great Basin, separated by seas and oceans of steppe and desert.
The House Range is in West-Central Utah, near Delta, and it is mostly, if not entirely limestone. Perfect territory for good plant richness.
The stepped-steppe pattern of the limestone ridges inspire me for garden designs that need to be big!
Heuchera rubescens, pinkish when in bloom, is like most dry American Heuchera and loves a nice North crevice. This species has outliers near where I live in Western Colorado, where we are otherwise dominated by the sweet but boring H. parvifolia. None of them seem really specific about what kind of rock at all.
But the real shocker for me was this primrose. Primula cusickiana var. domensis. Sure, it was in mossy seeps, but not wet ones. Nothing like the drippy places Dodecatheon (now "Primula", too) hangs on when it does show up in the low drylands.
The "dom" in Primula domensis, my friend told me was a reference to the House Range to which it is sort-of endemic. (Like "domicile, domestic") It is arguable how related/similar it is to nearby P. cusickiana subspecies nevadensis... but whatever, let's not get all judgy about its family tree, it's freaking pretty and deserves our respect for being a Primula in the desert.
I've mostly given up on Primroses years ago, which all fainted to death at the mere whisper of forgotten waterings in the garden. But this gem- it puts up with dry air and heat- I wouldn't mind giving it a go if I ever have the chance! Look at those lovely eyes!
No comments:
Post a Comment