What the Land Remembers
Species: Elephant Head (Pedicularis groenlandica)
Habitat: Subalpine, cool, moist, mountain meadows, wetlands, and streamsides; 6,000-11,000 ft.
Location: Pecos Baldy Lake, New Mexico
Public Land: Santa Fe National Forest, Pecos Wilderness
Description: Each flower has a long, pointed beak which curves upward, resembling the trunk of an elephant, and lateral lobes that resemble an elephant’s ears. No one forgets a pink elephant! But perhaps they are not elephants at all, perhaps they are the land’s way of remembering the mammoths that once roamed these lands. The land whispers that memory to us with thousands of tiny mammoth-shaped flowers marching through mountain wetlands.
This plant is one of my earliest loves— and it is a favorite for many people. I still have a specimen collected in my first plant press from 1998, Jackson, Wyoming.
High mountain wetlands where Elephant Heads grow— above 9,000’ like the one surrounding Pecos Baldy Lake, are fed by snow. They play a crucial role in regulating water cycles, supporting biodiversity, and providing essential resources for both wildlife and human populations. This plant is found in the high mountain ranges of western North America, much of Canada and Greenland (hence the scientific name denoting where it was first identified by botanists). In the Southwest, it’s widespread in Colorado and Utah and limited in range in New Mexico and Arizona.
Fine art print on acid free, 100% cotton, bright or warm white, textured surface, archival quality paper. For more about papers I use click here.
This image available as a vertical or horizontal.
LIMITED EDITION 25 PRINTS
Species: Elephant Head (Pedicularis groenlandica)
Habitat: Subalpine, cool, moist, mountain meadows, wetlands, and streamsides; 6,000-11,000 ft.
Location: Pecos Baldy Lake, New Mexico
Public Land: Santa Fe National Forest, Pecos Wilderness
Description: Each flower has a long, pointed beak which curves upward, resembling the trunk of an elephant, and lateral lobes that resemble an elephant’s ears. No one forgets a pink elephant! But perhaps they are not elephants at all, perhaps they are the land’s way of remembering the mammoths that once roamed these lands. The land whispers that memory to us with thousands of tiny mammoth-shaped flowers marching through mountain wetlands.
This plant is one of my earliest loves— and it is a favorite for many people. I still have a specimen collected in my first plant press from 1998, Jackson, Wyoming.
High mountain wetlands where Elephant Heads grow— above 9,000’ like the one surrounding Pecos Baldy Lake, are fed by snow. They play a crucial role in regulating water cycles, supporting biodiversity, and providing essential resources for both wildlife and human populations. This plant is found in the high mountain ranges of western North America, much of Canada and Greenland (hence the scientific name denoting where it was first identified by botanists). In the Southwest, it’s widespread in Colorado and Utah and limited in range in New Mexico and Arizona.
Fine art print on acid free, 100% cotton, bright or warm white, textured surface, archival quality paper. For more about papers I use click here.
This image available as a vertical or horizontal.
LIMITED EDITION 25 PRINTS
Species: Elephant Head (Pedicularis groenlandica)
Habitat: Subalpine, cool, moist, mountain meadows, wetlands, and streamsides; 6,000-11,000 ft.
Location: Pecos Baldy Lake, New Mexico
Public Land: Santa Fe National Forest, Pecos Wilderness
Description: Each flower has a long, pointed beak which curves upward, resembling the trunk of an elephant, and lateral lobes that resemble an elephant’s ears. No one forgets a pink elephant! But perhaps they are not elephants at all, perhaps they are the land’s way of remembering the mammoths that once roamed these lands. The land whispers that memory to us with thousands of tiny mammoth-shaped flowers marching through mountain wetlands.
This plant is one of my earliest loves— and it is a favorite for many people. I still have a specimen collected in my first plant press from 1998, Jackson, Wyoming.
High mountain wetlands where Elephant Heads grow— above 9,000’ like the one surrounding Pecos Baldy Lake, are fed by snow. They play a crucial role in regulating water cycles, supporting biodiversity, and providing essential resources for both wildlife and human populations. This plant is found in the high mountain ranges of western North America, much of Canada and Greenland (hence the scientific name denoting where it was first identified by botanists). In the Southwest, it’s widespread in Colorado and Utah and limited in range in New Mexico and Arizona.
Fine art print on acid free, 100% cotton, bright or warm white, textured surface, archival quality paper. For more about papers I use click here.
This image available as a vertical or horizontal.
LIMITED EDITION 25 PRINTS