#subalpine daisy

Wildflower season is (finally) starting! Sunrise area and east side trails have good displays, with Paradise a few weeks behind with lingering snow. Find details of what's blooming where. 

Remember to please stay on the trails. As snow melts away, it may be tempting to skirt remaining patches of snow that are covering trails. However, by going off trail you are walking on and damaging the wildflowers that you may be coming to see! It is better to stay on the trail even if that means crossing snow, particularly in the high-visitation meadows around Paradise and Sunrise. Also, there are plenty of opportunities for the perfect mountain + wildflower photo from the trails! No need to step off trail and crush other flowers in your quest for the perfect shot. 

Landscape Language

Corbiculum (noun) – the pollen basket of a bee

Bees are hard at work collecting pollen and pollinating Mount Rainier’s wildflowers. But how do bees get all that pollen back to their hives? Some bee species, including honey and bumble bees, use corbicula (singular corbiculum). Corbicula are concave structures surrounded by stiff hairs that create “pollen baskets” on the lower hind legs. The bee collects pollen using hairs all over its body. By grooming, the bee then packs the pollen into the corbicula, forming dense packets of pollen to carry back to the hive. Note the bright orange clumps on the hind legs of the bee in this photo. Corbicula full of pollen can account for 30% of a bee’s weight!