Yesterday in the Snowy Range west of Laramie, it felt like July, and the flowers seemed to think so as well. The alpine laurel, Kalmia microphylla, was blooming the earliest I have yet seen it at elevations of over 10,000 feet.
Alpine laurel, also called western bog laurel or swamp laurel, likes the really moist soils on the edges of subalpine lakes, preferably where the snow has just melted.
The pink flowers hold their petals in an almost cuplike shape until an insect (or curious human pokey finger) triggers a release of pollen. These plants are very poisonous, though, so even if you must poke, don’t eat. And wash that finger.
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