But in masses, in fields, in late summer when nothing else is in bloom, there's no plant that can match it for beauty. These mountains are so unique, so distinctive, little in books describe their habitats, so small are they in area. One wonders why some of the steep canyons are clothed in green, while others are barren swaths of rock tumbled down, not a green leaf in sight. In these gardens, plants grow tall, lush and green, from the melted snow conserved in the layers of rock. The moisture remains throughout the brief summer bubbling forth over mossy stones, tinkling down little crevices, nourishing willows, gooseberries, and more the profuse bloomers like potentilla, sneezeweed, and corn lilies.
Corn lilies have the largest leaves, like the better known skunk cabbage.
The flower in bud looks like a small ear of corn and the leaves in late summer take on mellow shades of antique gold. The lodgepole pine is first noticeable along trail by the small size of the fallen cones, then the cornflake bark on the trunks and, looking more closely, by the short needles in bundles of two. Jeffrey pine needles are bundled in threes and sugar in fives. This is an open forest. At ground level, limbless tree trunks, fallen logs, and blankets of pine needles.