Polemonium foliosissimum (Jacob’s Ladder)
Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

Montane, subalpine.  Meadows.  Summer.

Polemonium foliosissimum is easy to spot and identify because of its growth patterns: it is often in dense to loosely scattered colonies in open mountain meadows; it grows tall (commonly two to three feet) in an open, airy manner; and its leaves are numerous and finely cut.  Its abundance of softly lavender/ blue/purple flowers are borne in numerous, showy clusters.  Altogether, Polemonium foliosissimum is a softly appealing, lovely plant and a favorite among wildflower lovers.

Charles Parry first collected this plant for science in Colorado and it was named by Asa Gray in 1878.  "Foliosissimum" is Greek for "very leafy".