Two New Species Found in Colorado
Jennifer Ackerfield, the Head Curator of Natural History Collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens has written a blog about the “discovery” of two new species in Colorado. The first species, Physaria nelsonii, was collected by Melissa Islam, the then curator at DBG, in 2014 on a inventory trip to Moffat County. At that time she identified it as Physaria congesta. However, in 2021, Jennifer, thinking the species looked a little strange, changed the identification to P. nelsonii, a rare plant previously only found in Wyoming and Utah.
Physaria nelsonii, photo by Steve O’Kane
Penstemon bleaklyi, photo by Jennifer Ackerfield
The second species, Penstemon bleaklyi, Jennifer collected in 2016 and photographed while on a trip to Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. She uploaded a photo to iNaturalist, thinking it was a somewhat unique Penstemon. It was later identified by a New Mexico botanist as Penstemon bleaklyi.
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the knowledge, appreciation and conservation of native plants and habitats of Colorado through education, stewardship and advocacy.
Email: conpsoffice@gmail.com
P.O. Box 200, Fort Collins, CO 80522
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the knowledge, appreciation and conservation of native plants and habitats of Colorado through education, stewardship and advocacy.
Email: conpsoffice@gmail.com
P.O. Box 200, Fort Collins, CO 80522