#wyethia

FOTO WAYBACK - July 28, 2005 - Mule Ears in the setting sunshine.  WAY above Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Wyethia

A wyethia from Selway Meadows from last spring.

Several species of the genus Wyethia adorn long stretches of the PCT. The immense meadows of mule's ears create a sea of gold through the summer and, as they dry with the coming of autumn, the hairy leaves create a gentle rattle in the winds. I consider them among the most iconic of PCT flowers. The genus is named for an early explorer of the western United States, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth, 1802–1856.

The most common species along the trail is Wyethia mollis known by the common name woolly mule's ears. The plant is hairy to woolly in texture, sometimes losing its hairs with age. The long leaves have lance-shaped or oval blades coated in woolly hairs, especially when new. They usually grow up vertically from the base.

Artist Amy Uyeki did a wonderful job of capturing mule's ears in her block print that was featured in The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: California and is one of more than a dozen cards she has profiling scenes from the PCT.

Wyethia II by Alexander Hofstetter