Yosemite National Park is the flagship national park of the United States. It is located in the central Sierra Nevada mountains, in California. In winter its famous waterfalls freeze solid and there is usually snow. All the below photographs were taken in or near Yosemite National Park where elevations vary from 1,800 ft (549 m) to over 13,000 ft (3,900 m). The high mountain peaks were still covered with snow in June when Nhu Nguyen took these landscape photographs.
Allium species:
Allium hyalinum is a California onion with small starry flowers that sparkle in bright sun. It is found in grasslands moist in the spring in the central and southern Sierra foothills. There are generally two forms, a white and a pink. This species is easy in culture and multiples very well.
The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen on CA HW49 near Yosemite National Park. The plants were growing out of a thin organic mat on rocky surfaces where a seep occurs.
Calochortus species:
Calochortus minimus is a very small subalpine species. It grows in moist open woodlands, meadows and lake edges 1200-3000 m. The species blooms in the summer. The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen in Yosemite National Park, CA. Photo 6 shows a plant next to a set of keys for scale.
Calochortus leichtlinii is a species often found at quite high elevations in three western states: Oregon, California and Nevada. The plants are generally found in open exposed situations in alpine and montane coniferous forests, at elevations ranging from 750-4000 m. Photo was taken by Nhu Nguyen of a plant growing in more shaded conditions in Yosemite National Park, CA.
Camassia species:
Camassia quamash grows from British Columbia to northern California and inland to Montana, Wyoming, and Utah. The photos below were taken in late June 2010 in situ by Nhu Nguyen in Yosemite National Park, California. The plants were found in a wet meadow near Crane Flat at about 1900 m (6000 ft). This area is covered in snow in the winter.
Iris species:
Iris hartwegii grows at relatively high altitudes in the Sierras and southern California. It can be yellow or purple, and generally grows in open areas in pine woodlands. Photographed in situ by Nhu Nguyen growing under pines and blooming in June 2009.
Lewisia species:
Lewisia nevadensis is a western North America species that grows in vernal wet gravel flats and meadows at mid to high elevations. It is a small plant with long strap shaped leaves and white to light pink flowers. Photographed in situ in June 2009 by Nhu Nguyen.
Lewisia triphylla is tiny and growing out of a rock outcrop near Tioga Pass, about 10,600ft, in June 2012, photographed by Nhu Nguyen with fingers for scale.
Triteleia species:
Triteleia montana is found on gravelly soil on granitic substrate in ridge habitats in open montane forests between 4000 and 9800 feet (1200-3000 meters) in northern to central Sierra Nevada (California). In June 2009 Nhu Nguyen photographed these growing out of decayed granite.
Veratrum species:
Veratrum californicum is a species that has a wide distribution in the Western US at elevations between 0-11000 ft (0-3300 m). Plants grow 3-6 ft (1-2 m) tall, flowering mid to late summer. Photos were taken by Nhu Nguyen in Yosemite National Park, CA. These photos show the beautiful architecture of the leaves, which are not as delicate as they seem.
