Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Showy Jacob's-ladder
Polemonium pulcherrimum
Phlox family (Polemoniaceae)

The of Pretty Jacob's Ladder are arranged along a main axis, ladder-like, giving the plant its common name. Sweet-scented flowers attract insects that detect three distinctive color zones, guiding them past the and to the . It is common for clusters of many plants to have few, if any, flowers. But eye-catching arrays of hundreds of flowers are also common. In very dry years, few plants will flower. P. pulcherrimum is often found in small to very large colonies around the base of Engelmann Spruce. The name "pulcherrimum" is Greek for "very beautiful."


©2010 Keir Morse

Description

, 3-12" tall, featuring blue flowers arranged in congested clusters. Flowers are broadly bell-shaped with 5 rounded, spreading around small tubes. Five white extend beyond the petals. Leaves are with numerous pairs of along the main axis. often tufted and stem and somewhat reduced. Upper parts of the plant often . a .

Field Marks

Purple flower with white and yellow center; leaves .

© Al Schneider

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

A leaf is compound when multiple leaflets are on the same stem.

nectar -- A sweet fluid produced by the nectary in flowers and collected by bees and other insects.

lobe -- A rounded parts of a leaf (or other organ).

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

Glands are plant structures that secrete liquids, salts or other substances. Glands often appear as hairs with a drop of liquid at the end.

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

pinnate -- A compound leaf with two rows of leaflets.

leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

stigma - The tip of a pistil that receives the pollen.

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.