Alpine wildflower thread - Adirondack Peaks

[adkayaker]

I own the little pocket guide about Adirondack alpine flowering plants and shrubs, but it does not give much insight into the speciific peaks of what grows where. I assume that Marcy, Algonwuin, Wright, and Colden have the majority of the true arctic species but many other peaks have alpine growing species. (Having just climbed smaller Hopkins Mt. pre-new snow and seeing Three-toothed cinquefoil at the summit raised my interest.) Just one example -interested in learning more about where diapensia and lapland rosebay grow and blooming times for example. Anyone care to share your past photos, discuss summits with good displays, conservation and protection, display dates, comparisons to White Mountains, etc.

 

[DSettahr]

I own the little pocket guide about Adirondack alpine flowering plants and shrubs, but it does not give much insight into the speciific peaks of what grows where. I assume that Marcy, Algonwuin, Wright, and Colden have the majority of the true arctic species but many other peaks have alpine growing species. (Having just climbed smaller Hopkins Mt. pre-new snow and seeing Three-toothed cinquefoil at the summit raised my interest.) Just one example -interested in learning more about where diapensia and lapland rosebay grow and blooming times for example. Anyone care to share your past photos, discuss summits with good displays, conservation and protection via summit stewards, etc.

Haystack and Skylight both have expansive Alpine Zones, more so than Colden. Whiteface has some, but like Cascade, is pretty much a lost cause due to all the people running around on the summit.

 

[HH1]

Here's a list of Dack high peaks that host alpine vegetation:
Marcy, Algonquin, Boundary, Haystack, Skylight, Iroquois, Basin, Gothics, Colden and Wright.

This list is edited and extracted from the High Peaks UMP, 1999, p. 241 and was originally compiled in 1972. Please refer to the UMP for more details.

Best time to catch them flowering is typically through June, peaking perhaps mid month. Due to the warm spring, it may occur earlier this year.

Find Diapensia, Lapland Rosebay and Alpine Azalea in the higher, most exposed areas where snow accuumulation is next to nil and the weather is the harshest.

 

[Daniel Eagan]

Find Diapensia, Lapland Rosebay and Alpine Azalea in the higher, most exposed areas where snow accuumulation is next to nil and the weather is the harshest.

For example, the southern slopes of Haystack, where the trail from Bartlett Ridge emerges from the treeline.