Subalpine. Wetlands, openings, meadows. Spring, summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 18, 2005.

If you want to see a plant put on a spectacular flower display, hike in late spring through snow-filled forests to tree line.  At the edge of the snow you will be amazed at myriads of white Marsh Marigolds.  You will even find them poking through the snow and in shallow snow caves.  A few weeks later they will be joined by yellow Alpine Avens and Buttercups, red Paintbrush, Bluebells, and magenta Parry’s Primrose.  Frequently mixed in, sometimes extensively, are Globe Flowers, masquerading as Marsh Marigolds. 

Subalpine. Wetlands, openings, meadows. Spring, summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, June 23, 2008.

Subalpine. Wetlands, openings, meadows. Spring, summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 18, 2005.

Marsh Marigold flowers face you with a very sunny, wide-open spread of petals.  Be sure to look at the back of the flowers for the unusual purple tinge.  Marsh Marigold leaves continue to grow after the flowers are gone and triple the size of the leaves shown here.

"Psychro" "phila" means "cold" "lover".  "Lepto" is Greek for "fine".

Subalpine. Wetlands, openings, meadows. Spring, summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 18, 2005.

Linnaeus named the genus, "Caltha", in 1753 and Augustin de Candolle named this species in 1818.  In the late 1900s William Weber renamed the plant Psychrophila leptosepala, placing it in the genus first named by Berchtold and Presl in 1823.

Subalpine. Wetlands, openings, meadows. Spring, summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 18, 2005.

Ripening seed pod of Psychrophila leptosepala.