Violet Snapdragon

There is nothing more exciting for this wanna-be botanist than to find a species I’ve never seen before. It doesn’t happen much anymore because I’m exploring in the Preserve so often but I was lucky this past Saturday. While looking for another species, I came across a Violet Snapdragon (Sairocarpus nuttallianus) growing right next to the one I had been looking for! Of course I had no idea what it was so I went to my main source, Steve Jones, and he came through as always. Thanks Steve! And thanks to Chris for helping me hike back up to get a better look yesterday. (It’s a very steep trail)

What look like hairs all over the plant are actually tiny tack-like glands. Very cool.