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Skyrocket
Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. formosissima
34.9972, -108.083
Field Notes
Description:
Erect with finely divided leaves with linear segments that have needle tips (mucronate) clumping at the base of tall stem. The flowers are bright orange red, with the tube and lobes much exceeding the sepals. The lobes and inside of the tube are marked with orange (or in this spotting, orange-yellow) over the deep orange red.
The stamens and anthers protrude beyond the throat of the flower. This is one key factor distinguishing I. aggregata from I. tenuituba.
Habitat:
Semi-desert, foothills, mountains. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer, fall.
Notes:
Several of these were found growing near the rim of Bandera Crater near El Malpais lava beds in New Mexico. They were stark against the black of the lava basalt, and captivating.
According to a researcher at University of Texas at Austin (Thomas Juenger's lab - http://w3.biosci.utexas.edu/juenger_lab/), species in the Ipomopsis genus are highly diversified. That this small group of Ipomopsis grew in the stark naked lava is testimony to their adaptive ability.
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